Alloys
by DrunkenGrognard
Summary: To foster a child is to have a hostage; but while it can lead to troubled times it can also lead to peace... and the difference can be as thin and sharp as a knife's edge. ON HIATUS WHILE I TRY AND A BEAT THIS WRITERS BLOCK AND B FIGURE OUT THE PLOT.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I make no attempt to claim it. This story is written entirely for entertainment purposes. _

_Author's Note: This plot tiger-bunny bit me on the tukus and wouldn't let go. I intend to follow up on it, but I'm not sure just how fast._

**Prologue**

Fire Lord Zuko sat on his throne, the flames flanking it burning low. He had to keep them going – it was part of the mystique of his position – but he didn't have to keep them burning high and hot, especially not in the heat of midsummer. He didn't much care for the intimidation factor either. He was not his father or grandfather, keeping the nobility and bureaucracy in line through fear. He was more interested in working _with_ his nobles, not going through them.

It got tiresome at times, keeping the engine of empire running smoothly, and doing so without it creating another military juggernaut or even letting another rogue general or admiral do a runner with his unit to go raise havok on the mainland. It had been easier with the navy. Most of them had stayed employed, as the Fire Nation's Merchant Marine absorbed their numbers and ballooned into a massive surface-carrying fleet.

In those first few years, it had helped with the rebuilding, the efficient industry and metallurgy of the Fire Nation's main islands funneling their production into those efforts. The industry itself absorbed a goodly number of the Army's drawn-down strength, keeping those hands as occupied as possible. In the early days, their production went to the Earth Kingdom at a fraction of cost. But the Fire Nation's industrial might had only grown, and while the Earth Kingdom was undoubtedly richer in absolute terms, in individual terms the Fire Nation was far wealthier, her trade fleets plying every sea and river across the world.

Of course, keeping it all together took far more time and effort than he liked, and he got far too little time to spend with his sons and daughter. Lu Ten, Tomak, and Ursa wouldn't be young forever, and they seemed to grow so fast. Still, this day was almost done, and then he would be able to lay aside the Fire Lord for a few hours and simply be the father.

Ozai was a good example: if he would have done it, _don't_.

Face impassively Imperial, he listened as Minister Zoum finished his report. Nothing he hadn't really expected. Nothing that needed a decision right away. And nothing so urgent he'd spend the night thinking about it. He'd let it wait for morning.

He stood. "Very well. Is there any other business this day?" he asked the assembled ministers and nobles.

There was a slight hesitation from the Master of Ceremonies, then "Nothing of any import, Fire Lord."

_I don't like that hesitation._ "What is it, Minister Sough?"

Another hesitation. "A messenger from the Water Tribe." A pause, and some quiet murmers. The Water Tribe's position in the Avatar's favour was known, but they were not well thought of in the Fire Nation. "He does not bear a message with the seal of one of their chiefs or of the Avatar."

_And therefor he couldn't _possibly_ give Aang a message of you insulting him. Idiot. I thought I got all the racists out of my immediate councils... _"If he has carried a message here from the poles, I think I can listen to it. Send him in."

"Fire Lord, with all due respect, the barbarian is not worthy of your urgency. Not even of your attention, but he refused to give his message to any lesser person than yourself or the Fire Lady." Distaste filled that last, at the presumption of a foreigner demanding to speak to one of the two most powerful people in the Fire Nation. "Let him wait a few days, on your pleasure. Teach him his place." There was a pause as another, less happy murmer passed through the room. A few functionaries, familiar with Zuko's attitude about this sort of thing, edged slightly away from the Master of Ceremonies. They did not fear to catch the scatter of a fire blast – not from Zuko – but association could be just as bad...

_A message for my ears only. Or Mai's. _"I will speak to him _now. _Show him in." Zuko's tone was almost as arctic as his guest.

As the Master of Ceremonies left the room to get this messenger, one of Zuko's aides moved close enough for a whisper to carry. "Am I correct in assuming that you'll want a new Master of Ceremonies?"

"Yes. Make sure this one knows not to insult outsiders unless they give _actual_ reason for it."

"Very well, Fire Lord. Where should we post this one?"

"Somewhere very remote." That would make things unpleasant for a creature of the court like Sough. A small smirk threatened to break onto the Imperial mask, but he schooled his features.

The Water Tribe messenger was shown in, his weapons pointedly taken from him by one of the guards. _Straight sword, club and.. a boomerang? Don't tell me..._

He squinted at the figure. Tall and broad of shoulder, in the usual way of the Water Tribes. Dark skin. Hair kept in a wolf-tail, and that damnably familiar smirk. _How did Sough not recognize him?_

Another glance answered the question. The man wore plain leathers, the dyed blue fading. A day or two's worth of beard stubble. No badges of office or insignia, just plain, simple, hard-worn clothing with the occasional stain of food or other, less savory things. Just an ordinary, simple man, surrounded by the trappings of the noble, rich, and powerful. _Yes, definitely need to replace my Master of Ceremonies. He looks and does not _see_._

The man bowed, in the Fire Nation style, as deep as the commoner he appeared to be would do in the presence of the Fire Lord. _Laying it on thick. You haven't changed, old friend. _"Greetings, Fire Lord Zuko, Son of Ursa. I come bearing news of great urgency."

Zuko stood, took a step forward. "Rise, Sokka, son of Hakoda, brother of the Avatar. It is my honor to greet you in the name of the Fire Nation."

Where he stood near the door, Sough stiffened and went completely ashen. This time, Zuko couldn't stop himself from smirking.

Murmers swept the room again as nobles – most of whom had also dismissed the plainly dressed warrior as the simple messenger he looked like. A few, he could tell from their own smirks and smiles, had seen Sokka for who he was at once. He made a mental note. He liked it when his people payed attention.

Sokka spoke again, his tone a little more formal than Zuko remembered. "Fire Lord Zuko, I bear news, and it is only for the ears of yourself and Fire Lady Mai."

_I know he _can_ be formal and serious, but this seems... unlike him. I'm not sure I'm going to like this. _Zuko gestured, a sweep of his arm that encompassed all the gathered officials. "Leave us." A few of the guards hesitated. He shot the lead guard a _look_that said, _I'm a master Firebender and he's not only my friend, you took his weapons away already._

The guard replied with a look that said he thought his Fire Lord was being headstrong and foolish, but on his head be it.

As the officials started to file out, he gave Sokka a measuring look. The younger man – only slightly, having seen thirty winters compared to Zuko's own thirty-one – was looking somewhat nervous now that he was no longer acting the simple messenger. _Definitely_ bad news. He caught the eye of one of his aides. "Please tell Fire Lady Mai that her presence is requested. And have some refreshments sent in." The aide nodded.

Finally, they were alone, a small tray of fruits and a bottle of summer wine brought in. Mai would be along soon, he hoped. "What's happened, Sokka? Where's Aang, what news are you bringing from him?"

The taller man – damnably annoying, how much bigger the men of the other nations were – gave him an almost guilty look. "Aang should be in Omashu, officiating the contest Bumi wanted to choose his successor." A pause. "He doesn't know I'm here."

_That _rang alarm bells. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"It's... It's not something that's happened _yet_, it's something that's gonna happen. Once he finishes in Omashu, Aang's gonna come here himself. He said he'd some straight away, but you know him, probably get distracted by something on the way, go riding animals or playing with spirits..." Abruptly, Sokka stopped himself. "Sorry. Rambling."

_Agni, but he's nervous._ "How bad is it?" He heard a trickle of concern in his voice.

"I... I don't know yet, but it's probably pretty bad. It should probably wait 'till your wife's here. It affects you both."

Zuko let a little grumble into his voice. "I don't like the sound of this, Sokka."

"I don't either," said the blue-eyed warrior, shooting him an apologetic look.

"I... see," he said, eyes narrowing. "Well. At least I'll have some warning." A pause. "But you know word that you're in the capitol is going to get out. By this time tomorrow, everyone in the Fire Nation's going to know you showed up."

Sokka nodded glumly. "And by next week they'll be talking about it in Ba Sing Se. I know. I'm betting on Aang not getting too annoyed with me for going behind his back." A shrug. "I considered sneaking in as Colonel Wang Fire, but you guys changed the insignia since the last time I was in the Fire Nation. Wasn't about to mug an officer to get myself a better cover."

_There has to be a way to prise some kind of information out of him..._ "Last time you were in country was, what, two years ago now?"

"Little over. For your-" His words chopped off abruptly, and he glanced away. "For your daughter's eighth birthday celebration."

Zuko felt the blood drain from his face. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph had been visiting for other reasons; the party had simply been the cap on a fruitful month of negotiations and visits. That Sokka had identified the visit by the party and not the business... _This involves my kids._

He didn't consciously remember lunging forward, one hand wrapping around the Water Tribesman's throat; he was simply _there_. "What. Is. Going. On?"

A familiar laconic voice came from one of the side doors in a tone of gentle rebuke. "Are we skipping straight to frying the messenger?"

Zuko glanced back to his wife as she walked towards them, one hand hidden up a sleeve, as always when she suspected violence would be immanent. He made himself let go, made himself step back. "Sorry," he muttered.

"No blood, no foul, Zuko. Believe me, I know this sucks." He gave Mai a bow, took a deep breath. "You know how Aang still loves to think everyone's decent at heart and nobody ever _really_ means to hurt anyone else? And if they put it in a really happy and reasonable way, they can convince him that lots of crazy things are good ideas?"

Zuko nodded. "What did he get talked into this time?"

Sokka sighed. "You have to understand, this is one of the areas that he's really, really Air Nomad about. Family, I mean. I think he understands it intellectually these days, but he has trouble shaking the 'a mentor is the most important thing' mindset he grew up with..." Another breath, and Zuko could tell from his wife's rigid posture beside him she didn't like where this was going any more than he did himself. "There's a really old tradition in the Southern Water Tribes, from back before we sort of unified a century ago." The _in response to Sozin's war_ went unsaid, but it would have been even more unneeded than gauche among these three. "The Earth Kingdoms had it to, with all their little city states. They called it 'fostering' a child. It was a sort of peace bond, where the ruler of a powerful city would take in the heir to another city, to use as leverage against that city to make sure they behaved themselves, didn't start anything. Officially, of course, they'd couch it as being about cultural exchange and gestures of good faith, but..." Another deep breath. "In the Water Tribes we called it Kin Holding, and we didn't mess around with the fancy words."

Zuko almost didn't recognize his own voice, so strangled was his tone. "We had something similar before the Island Clans banded together. Someone wants to take my son as _insurance_?"

"A bunch of Earth Kingdom nobles are the main drivers behind it. They talked to him about it in our last visit to Ba Sing Se. The Northern Water Tribe is backing them hard. Dad isn't. He doesn't trust it, and neither do I."

"How did they convince the Airbender to go along with it?" asked Mai in a very flat tone.

"They couched it in the 'cultural exchange' and 'seeing new places and things while meeting new people' version of the tradition. Made it sound like some big vacation." A pause. "And Pakku told him it was a good idea, and he still listens to that dried up old sea-prune." Sokka sighed. "For what it's worth, he _didn't_ ask me, or Katara, or Suki. They sprung it on him while we were dealing with some other stuff." A mutter about scheming politicians. "He doesn't get why we don't like it. He's real good friends with some of those nobles. Most of the ones behind this, at least the ones who talked to him about it, were the governors who stalled the Earth Army when they were gonna throw your colonies into the sea, gave him the time to shut them down."

"So he thinks they're all peaceful and kind like he is, because they tried to keep the war from restarting." Zuko fought down his temper. "And he thinks we'll agree to this?"

"Again, Air Nomad think. He figures it'll be a good experience for Lu Ten." A pause. "And at the risk of playing Koh's Advocate, it _is_ possible that at least some of them really _do_ see this as a way to make things easier on the next generation. If the next Fire Lord learns about how the Earth Kingdom works, and has friends there and such, he'll be less likely to try and start the war again next time the Comet comes around."

_Never going to be out of that thing's shadow._ "Do you really believe that, Sokka?"

"Kuei's too nice to be malicious about this._ He's_ sincere about it, at least."

"Kuei is an idiot," Zuko ground out.

"He's getting better but... yeah." Another shrug. "Some of them _want_ you to explode about this, I think. They _want_ you to throw the Avatar out and get all mad and militant."

"...They want me to buck the Avatar and give them an excuse. Agni. Between the water and the ice."

Beside him, Mai found her voice. "I am not letting my son be used as a bargaining chip."

Sokka recognized the danger in her tone, raised both hands, open, fingers spread wide. "I'm not asking you to. Look, I'm trying to help here. I got some ideas."

_Sokka is good at ideas..._ "I'm listening."

* * *

Aang gave full throat to his laughter as Appa descended through the cloud layer and the Fire Nation's capitol city came into focus below winds had been behind him for most of the trip, even without his intervention. Looking to the harbor, he could see the Earth Kingdom ship that Kuei's representatives were using to travel. None of them had wanted to join him on Appa. Their loss.

He'd learned a measure of patience in the years since the war's end. He didn't mind flying at a pace the ship could match without endangering itself, and it made things easier on Appa. It had been a productive summer trip so far. It had been a little _lonelier_ than he'd wanted, mind. Katara had decided to head back to the South Pole after their visit to Ba Sing Se, and Suki to Kyoshi Island. Neither of them liked the plan he'd come up with in his talks with the Council of Kings, but that was okay. He knew that it was a great idea and, well, Chief Hakoda himself had told him, a decade ago, the night before the young Airbender married Katara (The Water Tribe customs and ceremonies, of course, as the Air Nomads hadn't really had an equivalent), that a married man would seldom be in agreement with his wife in all things. It was something to strive for, but few could achieve it... which made it seem like an odd thing to strive for, but he'd learned many a time that the other nations had very strange customs and ideas.

He knew Lu Ten fairly well. The little guy liked meeting new people, and he'd probably _love_ Ba Sing Se. It was so much better these days, without the Dai Li. It'd be a great experience for the young Firebender. Kuei wouldn't let anything happen to the kid, he was a very good king now.

A big squad of Imperial Firebenders stood at attention on the docks as Appa came in for a gentle landing at the end of a pier. He jumped down, still spry enough to land it even without his Airbending, and gave his oldest friend a scratch behind one ear as the Earth Kingdom ship pulled in. He waited for the nobles and their own honor guard disembarked, then walked as a group to the shore, the Earthbender's armor, with its inserts of jade and brass, gleaming every bit as bright as the lacquered red-and-gold of the Firebenders.

At the head of the Fire Nation delegation was Zuko, wearing with Aang still thought of as the Prince Face. Mai was beside him, looking as dour as ever. He respected the woman, but she really needed to learn how to have fun. The look she was giving him was... huh. Not good.

A glance around, and he saw a small splash of blue a ways back. _So the rumors about Sokka coming here are true... Why..._

They still had a few steps before he'd need to be all official, and the Earthbenders were moving slowly along the wooden dock. The Airbender's mind raced. _He wouldn't do something to mess this up, not deliberately. Not Sokka; he's a good guy. Maybe he figured they'd think it was a bad idea, the way Katara and Suki did, and he wanted to ease them into it? But _he _didn't like it either..._

His eyes narrowed for a moment. _I am gonna have to have a _talk_ with my brother-in-law._

"Greetings, Avatar Aang; Governor Meng," began Zuko when the emissaries stopped, a few yards between them. Each group bowed to the other (well, the diplomats and nobles did, the guards just sort of politely glared at each other.) "Welcome to the Capitol. I hope your voyage was a pleasant one?"

This last was directed at Meng, who nodded. "It was indeed. Clear sky, fair winds, and your navy has done an admirable job of cleansing this region of ocean of pirates."

Zuko's smile turned razorlike for a moment. "We don't like pirates around here. It's our pleasure to deal with them." Then it went Princelike again. "If you'll come with us, we have some refreshments prepared for you at the Palace."

* * *

The moment Sokka had been quietly dreading for the last few weeks was about to come to pass. Aang had been patient enough to wait until they made it to the palace proper to corner him, and he'd even coached it in terms of 'a quick word with my brother-in-law' rather than anything angry. But the Airbender had gotten good at hiding it when he was pissed, and Sokka had had weeks to worry himself up...

Out of earshot and line of sight, Aang finally spoke up. "So... I thought you were going to Gaunyin. Why're you here?"

"I changed my mind on the road. Look, I know you think this is a great idea, Aang, but you also know that most of us not-Airbenders have our own ideas about family." He raised a hand to stop Aang's reflexive protest that he did _so_ understand families, and continued. "One thing I've learned about the Fire Nation? Most of 'em are really big on family, almost as much as we are in the Water Tribes." And hadn't _that_ been a bone of contention between the two of them on and off over the years – Aang may have been _father_ to two children, but he wasn't much of a _dad_ to them, preferring to let Bato or Hakoda or Pakku teach them the things that a kid ought to learn from his father, and didn't think anything of vanishing without warning for days at a time... because there were plenty of mentors back home, even if he was away.

"Zuko especially cares about family. His dad was, well, Ozai. He's trying not to be like that. He _cares_ about his kids. He spends as much time as he can with them, teaching them, helping them with their Firebending, everything. Asking him to send any of his kids away is a _really big deal_ for him, and I figured he deserved a little warning."

Aang looked thoughtful for a moment. "But Governor Meng and Earth King Kuei are the good guys! Do you think they'd do something to hurt Lu Ten?"

"I don't know, Aang. Zuko sure doesn't, and he's a little paranoid about this kinda thing, after how his own childhood went."

Another thoughtful look. "Wait, how mad was he? When you mentioned it?"

"Really, really mad. Like, his temper back when we first met him mad."

"Okay, that could have looked bad, if that had happened." A pause. "An Avatar and a Firelord fighting... that's Roku and Sozin all over again. That's the _last _thing we need, with Governor Meng here." Then the shorter man glared up at his brother-in-law. "But you should have told me what you were up to."

Sokka shrugged. "Maybe so. But you wouldn't listen to Katara, didn't think you'd listen to me, either. Anyway, they have a counter-proposal."

* * *

"...We think it would grow the peace, much like the trade agreements we already enjoy have grown the peace, Fire Lord Zuko, and it would be an excellent opportunity to see the world for the young lad."

Zuko nodded slowly, took a moment to stroke his short, neatly trimmed beard, looking thoughtful. The beard had first been an unconscious effort to ape his Uncle Iroh, but it had become a genuine habit over time, as had general fiddling with the thing. It made a nice cover for the bit of mummery involved on his part here. Oh, that he'd had some warning was certainly something Meng had figured out shortly after spotting Sokka – they had enough reports about him to know he was a bright enough administrator – but they'd all observe the forms, and like any well done political knife-fight, they'd ignore the blood hitting the tiles. To do otherwise would be simply gauche.

"An interesting proposal, Governor Meng. The idea _does_ have some merit, and I will not try to deny that." A pause, and he gave his beard another stroke. "I wonder... I know Earth King Kuei has a child, young Prince Tsai, and that he is a wonderful heir for his kingdom. Do you think he would be amenable to a similar arrangement?"

Meng was a good actor, but he stiffened as Zuko spoke their little counter-proposal. Beside him, Mai smiled very faintly. Finally, the Governor found his voice. "Ah, I do not think that would be acceptable... The Earth King's heir..."

"Why would it not be acceptable? As you said yourself, the chance to travel and immerse oneself in another culture is a rare thing, and a valuable one for a monarch." A pause. "And does not Earth King Kuei himself often lament that he never traveled until he was a man full grown?"

"He'd probably like that idea," said Aang with his usual enthusiasm. "In fact, I kinda wonder why he didn't mention it... Tsai loves stories about the world beyond Ba Sing Se..."

_Agni bless you, you scatterbrained little Airbender._

Meng shook his head, looking slightly flustered. "The situations are not equivalent, Fire Lord... The Earth King's bloodline makes up the spiritual heart of Ba Sing Se; of the very Earth Kingdom itself. There is great danger in removing even a part of that..."

"The traditions hold that the Fire Lord's line is tied tightly with the spiritual health of the Fire Nation, Governor. We are still healing; if we are asked to lend a part of our spirit to another nation, it seems only fair to ask for a similar gesture." _Gotcha. And the Avatar is right here, and he _knows_ that Kuei would probably be happy to let his son travel somewhere, and if you start getting _really_ worked up he'll wonder why, and my wouldn't _that_ just frost over your plans..._

Sokka was a magnificent bastard, and Zuko was quite grateful that, these days, they were on the same side. Coming at the idea cold, he wouldn't have been nearly clearheaded enough to play this little scenario to the point where it would neutralize itself so neatly.

Meng's mouth was working up and down like a landed fish, and it was clear that his plan was turning to ash before his eyes.

Aang glanced around the group, shot an accusing look at Sokka, and then piped in, "Well, if you'll agree to an exchange... why not of daughters? My daughter Yangchen is an heir to the Southern Water Tribe, and she enjoyed the short visits she's had to the Fire Nation. I'm sure she'd be happy to live here for a while, and the South Pole would be a great experience for Ursa..."

Sokka choked on the wine he'd been sipping; looked at his brother-in-law with an expression of horror. Zuko himself froze for a moment, and he felt his wife stiffen. Meng looked wide-eyed at the Avatar for a moment.

Inside, Zuko cursed Sokka for not anticipating this. Cursed Aang for trying to hard to make a plan whose proposer was abandoning work. Cursed himself for letting things carry through to this point.

Because the dance of politics and face-saving meant he couldn't, at this point, say no with any dignity.

* * *

"Aang, little buddy... _You're_ explaining this to Katara."

* * *

It was a compromise that none of those involved were happy with. Aang, in his attempt to salvage what he _still_ thought of as a great plan, had failed to think through what his wife might think of it. With Sokka categorically refusing to talk to her ahead of him, well, the wrath of wife would be landing squarely on his own tattooed head.

Sokka was kicking himself for not seeing this possibility. He really, _really_, should have. And even if Aang was going to be the first to stick his arm into the beartrap that was Katara's temper, he knew damn well that his sister would be taking a chunk out of him soon thereafter.

Meng had allowed himself to be maneuvered and manipulated. He'd been played for a fool, and only blind luck (Gaunyin be praised for the Avatar's timely intervention) had he been able to avoid being the only one made to look foolish. The Fire Lord had been just as adroitly polite and reasonable as can be, about the same way he and his compatriots were when they'd proposed the idea in the first place.

Zuko and Mai were stunned. They'd had no intention of following through with this arrangement, hence their plot with Sokka to torpedo it. That plot backfiring(as _only_ the Avatar could backfire it) had come unexpected, and they were loath to send any of their children away.

* * *

The sun was setting over the harbor, and Sokka watched it from a palace balcony, lost amid his own thoughts. All in all, it probably could have gone _worse_, but the situation was plenty bad enough. His niece, going to spend at least a year living in the Fire Nation – in the heart of the snakepit itself; their very capitol.

He had a pretty good feeling, now, that he had a rough understanding of what Zuko was feeling, and it wasn't even his own kid. His own kids weren't terribly likely, not in the near future... He'd tried to make an honest woman of Suki, but she wasn't interested in marriage just yet. She had her responsibilities to Kyoshi, and she would fulfill them. Didn't stop the two of them from, ahem, enjoying their occasional visits, but she wasn't willing to take on another commitment, and he loved her too much to try and force it just yet. He, too, had responsibilities, to the tribe and to the world. Lots of travel with Aang, helping to keep the peace.

Not the result they'd wanted. But, some small corner of his mind insisted, something they could work with. They could hash out some details and set things up properly...

He saw motion out of the corner of his eye, whirled. Zuko'd managed to sneak up on him; into arm's reach. _I'm getting rusty,_ he thought sourly. "Zuko."

"Sokka." He took another step himself, to the balcony rail, and watched the harbor for a long moment. "Ursa's agreed to go. She thinks it'll be an adventure."

"Aang'll manage to convince Katara, somehow."

A long moment passed as the two watched the sun paint fire over the water, then, "In a lot of ways, we're actually getting the better deal. I _know_ I can trust you, and your father, to make sure she stays safe. And your tribe is smaller, tighter knit – less factions, harder for some outsider to infiltrate... This will be less a 'Kin Holding' and more a real exchange."

"Oh, yeah. We'll teach her all our bad, barbarian habits. She'll scandalize the court when she comes home."

"We'll keep Yangchen safe. The Fire Nation may be more... fractious, but I've ridden this tiger-dillo this long. I know how it works."

They shared another silent moment, then shook hands, wrist to wrist. "Who knows? We might learn a thing or two ourselves from it."


	2. A Desert Made of Water

_Disclaimer: You know the drill, not mine, just playing with it, not trying to claim or steal anything._

A Desert Made of Water

"You want me to do _what?"_

Hakoda, chieftan of the Southern Water Tribe smiled at the look on his best friend's face, despite the heft of the subject. "I want you to go to the Fire Nation as Yangchen's bodyguard."

The scarred warrior collected himself for a moment, then said, "Why send me? Hakoda, I can think of a dozen reasons not to."

Hakoda held up a closed hand. "Then I'll tell you my reasons for picking you. First," One finger unfolded from his palm, "I trust you, and your instincts, absolutely. You're good at spotting trouble, even if you're not always fast enough to dodge it. Second, _Katara _trusts you absolutely, and you accompanying her daughter ought to make her a lot calmer about this, since at the moment we can't exactly get out of it." Calming Katara down quickly was a non-trivial concern. Their own city was still mostly Waterbent ice... and while Katara had gotten a much better hold on her temper over the years... she was still one of the most powerful living Waterbenders in the world, and when she was angry, ice shredded all around her.

And Tui and La, was she ever angry right now, since Aang landed early yesterday to give her the 'good news.' The fact that a bodyguard _could_ be sent was part of why Hakoda hadn't gone off on his son-in-law after his daughter had finished. In an old fashioned Kin Holding, that simply wasn't done, nor in the 'civilized' version the Earth Kingdom practiced, from what he could find. Indeed, it was more or less the exact opposite of the point of such an arrangement – you wanted the chief's son you held to be as vulnerable as possible. As good-faith gestures went, it was actually a fairly noticeable one.

Hakoda had long since given up on teaching his son-in-law good sense, though he'd managed to ingrain at least _some_ sense into his grandson Kenzin. He shook that thought off and continued. "Third, Yangchen likes you, and she'll need a familiar face she can trust while she's away from home for so long."

"Forth, even though you're not a Bender, you're still my most trusted warrior, and you've no small importance in the Tribe's government. If you hear anything... that would be a concern for us here... I figure you'd be able to get word out." A pause. "Sokka assures me I can trust Zuko, but I don't trust Zuko's people all that much."

"That brings up one of the _other _problems," cut in Bato. "The Fire Nation puts even more importance than we do on Bending – what if they decide you sending an ordinary man along is an insult?"

Hakoda couldn't keep a sardonic smirk off his face."What, to their assassins?"

Bato sighed. Hakoda, it seemed, would never grow up entirely. "More in general, but I suppose that applies, too."

He paused as Hakoda shrugged expressively, silently saying he didn't much care about insulting Fire Nation nobles. "The people over there who _matter_ know who you are, and why you being there isn't a slight on them."

Bato gave a noncommital grunt, not willing to cede the point to his old friend and chief just yet. "And Yangchen's Waterbending training?"

"This is why we have scrolls. One of Sokka's jobs today is collecting up a bunch of useful ones for her."

"Well then. I know this might be hard for you to remember, but your granddaughter is starting to grow up. She's of an age where she probably won't want a dried up old man hanging around. For that matter, there'll be situations where a bodyguard _should_ go where a man won't be able to follow."

"She's a waterbender, and not a weak one. If letting her out of your sight for a few minutes to deal with... personal issues... is going to put her in unacceptable danger, we've already lost."

Finally Bato asked the question that was _really_ on his mind. "Why not one of our own Waterbenders?"

Hakoda sighed, expression sobering. "Because I don't think any of them fit the criteria as you. All our native-born Southern Waterbenders are around Yangchen's own age or younger, and for all they came here to have a little more freedom than they would in the North, the Northern immigrants still carry a fair bit of cultural baggage _from_ the North." Another pause. "And for all we got hit harder, the Northern Water Tribe seems to hate the Fire Nation even more."

"I'm hardly fond of them myself."

"I know, but you know when not to make a scene."

Bato mumbled something incoherent. Changing topics, he asked, "Do you know where you're going to put them up, yet? I doubt a Fire Princess and her own bodyguard will be terribly fond of the cold."

"I have. Mark off another advantage to some of the crazy people who followed Sokka back, those Earthbent houses work fine for this sort of thing."

It had been one of the odder things about the Tribe's rebuilding after the war's end. They'd expected, at first, a small trickle from the Northern Tribe, and nothing else; were prepared to lay down their weapons and get back to the hard work of rebuilding at the pole. There'd been two factors Hakoda hadn't counted on.

First, people trying to curry favour with the Avatar. The fact that the young Airbender considered members of the Southern Water Tribe as kin had brought an assortment of politically-motivated folks south in his wake. Not all that many had _stayed_ of course – most of the hangers-on had fled the cold. A few, however, had decided to stick it out. Some had thin traces of Air Nomad blood – proof, Hakoda liked to think, that even the most strict and rigid of monastic upbringings was hard-pressed to deal with the hormones of a teenager away from home with inadequate supervision. A little proof that they'd been more like the other, less enlightened nations than, he had no doubt, they'd like to admit. Some of the others who'd followed Aang simply considered him an inspiration to follow. They'd all had their reasons, and a goodly quantity of guts to stay when the harsh realities of polar life set in. Even a few of the purely political followers.

The second factor... had been his children. Katara had inspired many people with her own hope and skill and raw determination to never give up. Not quite so many of them had come south – when she realized her heroism was gaining her a following, she'd told as many as she could that the best way to make a difference was to start at your own home – but some had, and as a result the South Pole now had the perhaps dubious honor of the strongest women's group outside of Kyoshi Island itself. Sokka had, entirely without trying, brought along a more varied and far, far crazier bunch. An ordinary man who stood beside master Benders and was still core to the team... it was an image that a lot of people found appealing. His penchant for wild ideas that still somehow worked, and his inventive streak, had attracted a number of artisans and free thinkers. Oh, many of the former group had followed the Mechanist to the Northern Air Temple, but some would rather brave the cold than the heights.

They'd improved on the submersibles created for the invasion, made various ingenious devices for everything from making saltwater drinkable without Waterbending to navigating without sun or stars to making it easier to control the heat of a forge without Firebending.

And a few of them, five Earthbenders, siblings and cousins from distant Omashu, had decided that the ice shelf the Southern Water Tribe's rapidly growing, Waterbent city, needed some rock. And they'd piled into a submersible along with Sokka and two patently mad Northern Waterbenders, and raised the sea floor itself over the course of a week beneath the entire city. Then they'd Earthbent themselves homes where one could(could one find fuel, at least) start a fire for warmth without creating problems. It had been an impressive undertaking, and one that had lead to a great number of useful little things, and likely would again.

Such as having a home a 'civilized' person wouldn't turn her nose up at the moment she saw it. That, too, would probably help things.

Bato spoke again, breaking him from his musing. "So, you've thought this through. Still not sure I like this plan, I have some bad memories of Fire Nation 'Hospitality.'"

"I know, old friend. And believe me, I hate to put you in this position, you're just the best man for the job."

Bato sighed again, nodding. "I understand. I suppose I'd better pack my things."

* * *

Fire Princess Ursa pulled her robes tighter around herself as the _Ten Winds_ slowly eased its way into the Southern Water Tribe's main port, maneuvering into the shelter of its Waterbent ice walls. The heavy, double-weave koala-sheep wool robes had seemed almost silly to her when Mother had presented it while she'd packed her things. For the last two days, as _Ten Winds_ had steamed into arctic waters, it seemed a lot less funny.

This had whole thing had felt like an adventure back home. Now it just felt cold.

Beside her, and just behind, stood her bodyguard. Sergeant Akagi had been her shadow for a few years now, and she found the presence of the older Firebender to be very, very comforting. Normally, she wasn't terribly fond of the woman, and the whispers she tended to attract about her daddy not having faith in Ursa's ability to take care of herself, but... after hearing a few stories about what happened to her parents and grandparents in their own youths because nobody'd been looking out for them (Indeed, her uncle Toma often spoke of being kidnapped by the resistance in Omashu) on the whole she actually kinda liked the idea of a bodyguard. Even a Princess couldn't keep track of everything going on around her.

For her own part, Akagi was doing her best to look stoic in the cold. She knew why she'd been tasked with this, and a small part of her knew that if they'd picked some other, more political or important or potent person to take her place guarding the Fire Princess, she'dve been more than a little offended. But that didn't make these damned polar winds any more fun to deal with.

Many of the qualifications that had led to her being transferred to the Royal Guard to watch out for the Princess in the first place actually made her a better choice than most. She'd not served during the War; finishing her stint in the academy a few months after the armistice, and so had no innocent blood on her hands. She'd spent her time in service as a Marine, first on a frigate on antipiracy and convoy escort duty, where she'd proven herself. Then a year doing more or less the same thing, but with pickier bosses, as a guard in the Merchant Marine. She'd had a fair bit of contact with the other nations (mostly those parts of the other nations closest to the docks, but the principle was sound) and she'd completed a season of polar cruises in her Marine days.

That didn't make the cold any nicer now, of course. And the occasional painfully polite exchange of words with Northern Water Tribe sailors when they'd passed on convoy or patrol hadn't really been enough to give her a good grasp of the Water Tribes. She'd taken the opportunity to bone up on her knowledge there, however – studying scrolls written by Avatar Roku about his time with them. The treatise was old, of course, but it had given her a window of tradition and culture to frame her observations of the tribes. The Dragon of the West had written another, perhaps sparser in details, but newer, which helped. If one could pierce the somewhat impenetrable wall of rambling that tended to accompany anything the Dragon wrote. At least most of the rambling, being cultural musings slotted around tactical doctrine, was useful.

Beneath their feet, the low, steady rumble of the steam engine faded almost to nothing as they entered the harbor proper. The narrow warship – they were too polite to have trebuchets mounted at the moment, but there was no mistaking the sleek crusier for a merchant steamer – lost weigh slowly, listing very slightly to the port side as she settled into the water. Akagi shifted uncomfortably; professional paranoia trickling up her spine as she looked at the tops of the harbor walls. They looked like the walls around the harbor at the capitol, if on a slightly lesser scale, and though they lacked ballistae, they still had a handful of soldiers patrolling them. One of them, the spear leaning against his other shoulder marking him as _probably_ not a bender, gave a friendly wave. Absently, as her gaze scanned the top of the walls, she noted that the bite of the wind had dropped off precipitously. Defense against wind, probably storms, and hostile ships. It was an eminently sensible layout for the harbor and if she didn't have a very important princess to guard, she'd probably be nearly calm, being on a ship in the middle of this little enfilade.

From the docks came a pair of small boats, each with a trio of Waterbenders aboard. They pulled alongside _Ten Winds_ and shouted up; lines were cast down, and the Benders set about towing the big ship up to one of the docks; a spit of stone that looked both decidedly out of place next to all the ice and very, very welcome.

Say whatever else one might about being towed into dock, the harbor Waterbenders knew their trade. The big ironclad came to a stop without even a slight bump against the dock. As sailors busied themselves tossing mooring lines back and forth with the Water Tribesmen on the docks and securing the ship, the bow ramp descended, slowly, crunching only slightly into the ice; the polite way to go about it. Akagi waited a moment for the captain to join them, as well as a few of the ships company. Down the ramp they went, Captain and two of his Marines first, then the Princess, and Akagi taking up the rear. Far enough behind them to be officially outside of notice came two middies, at the moment tasked with the luggage.

Waiting for them was a small party of Water Tribesmen. Three warriors she didn't recognize, Chief Hakoda, and his son Sokka. No benders. _Odd. I'd think they'd have at least a few of them here for this..._

The Chief gave a passable imitation of a Fire Nation bow, followed by his subordinates(the warriors were a little sloppier, his son's was court-perfect), then said, "Greetings, Fire Princess Ursa. I am Chief Hakoda. On behalf of the Southern Water Tribe, I welcome you to our city."

If the Fire Princess was offput by the odd situation, she never showed it. "I thank you for the kind welcome, and this invitation to see your way of life." A pause, then she gestured at Akagi. "This is Lieutenant Akagi, my aide." The polite fiction passed without comment; Hakoda offered another, slighter bow to the bodyguard. As he straightened, he gave her a look heavy with meaning – respect for a soldier given a difficult task, a promise to make that task no harder than it need be, and a demand for similar respect in return.

Akagi felt a tiny shiver shoot up her spine. She wasn't entirely sure what she'd expected from the Water Tribe chief, but that hadn't been it. It was also better than what she'd figured herself likely to get. All in all, not a bad sign.

Apparently deciding that the formalities were done with, Hakoda's serious, official expression cracked into a smile, and the big man gestured past the warehouse-like buildings Bent out of the ice and towards the city proper. "Well then. We'll be holding a feast in honour of your arrival, young Princess, but we've a few hours until then. If you'll come with us, we can show you to your rooms and let you get settled in."

Ursa's smile went from polite to dimpled, and she said, "That sounds good. How far is it?"

"Not too far. Here, we'll get the bags. Captain Yang," he turned briefly to the navy officer, "The harbormaster should be here shortly, if you need to take on any supplies before you go."

"Thank you, Chief Hakoda."

The Chief hefted one of the Princess' larger bags without any apparent effort; Sokka got her own duffel, and the other warriors grabbed the remaining bags between them, then they were off. Ursa seemed a little nervous, but far more curious about what was around her. While it was still cold enough that their breath looked like little clouds of steam with every breath, within the walls and out of the wind's bite, it was almost reasonable. The little Princess was looking at anything and everything.

"Why do all the buildings look different?" she asked after a few blocks – Akagi thought it had been a few blocks at least; none of the streets were particularly straight, which made figuring such things difficult.

"Couple reasons," began Sokka, "Some of them we built the old fashioned way, cutting blocks out of ice and stacking them, most are Waterbent, the tall ones we're heading towards are actually Earthbent up through the ice from below. Everybody who worked on a building had their own idea about how stuff should look, and some Waterbenders just sort of grew their houses whenever they wanted and, well..."

Hakoda took over with a lopsided grin. "And we didn't expect the city to grow nearly so much as it did, so when things started out we didn't exactly plan anything. Trying to impose order on the building didn't work so well, so we finally just accepted it and moved the outer walls to keep the whole thing in a weather shadow."

Ursa's face scrunched up in thought for a moment. "What's a weather shadow?"

There was a moment's pause, then Sokka picked up the explanation. "Well, did you see any sailing ships on your trip?"

"A few." More than a few, to Akagi's memory – several Earth Kingdom merchantmen and some fishing boats.

"Did you see how their sails sort of puff out when the wind hits them?"

"Yes," Ursa replied, with a faint hint of 'don't talk down to me, I'm not an infant.'

"Well, the sail blocks the wind. So if you're on the side that's puffed out, you don't really feel it because the sail's in the way. We set up the walls so that whatever direction the wind blows from, it hits the wall and doesn't blow through the streets. Keeps the storms out, mostly, too."

The Fire Princess looked thoughtful a moment. "But what about when the wind comes from the sea? There's a hole in the wall at the harbor."

"We cheated a bit there," said Sokka with a grin. "Did you notice how the streets curved a bunch when we walked by the warehouses?"

The Princess nodded slowly, thinking furiously. "Then... the warehouses block the wind there?"

"Mostly. Since those were for the city and not houses, we got 'em designed specifically to do that little job. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done."

Ursa looked quite happy with herself for figuring out the bit she had, and she continued to pepper Sokka with questions as they walked, and again Akagi found herself getting a look from Hakoda, this one asking _is she always this chatty?_

To which she replied with a nod and a faint smile of her own.

* * *

Their Earthbent quarters were quite sensibly laid out, if a little plain, in Ursa's reckoning. There were three rooms; a large one that the door in lead to with two bedrooms that lead right into it. One was little, and near the front door. The other was bigger, with its door near the back, and on a weird angle that meant you couldn't look into it from the front door, but it ran back so that it shared a wall with the little bedroom. Each room had a skylight paned with thick, greenish glass that Sokka said they'd made 'the hard way,' whatever that meant, and little clusters of green crystals that glowed softly that looked like the crystals she'd seen a few years ago when she'd accompanied Father on a visit to Ba Sing Sei. Uncle Iroh had given her and her brothers a tour of the city while Father had been at meetings, and they'd seen the old caverns.

The shared wall was a double comfort – first, for all the city was _neat _and _interesting_ and she'd honestly never seen anything like it before, it was also very, very different and alien and even in the heavy robes she was cold outside, and knowing that Akagi was right next to her was going to be more comforting than she could easily express. Second, though no less important, there was a fireplace built into it and a fully stocked coal scuttle next to the fireplace. Sokka had explained that they'd done something clever with the chimney to keep it from letting snow or cold air in, and she believed him – looking up the chimney from below, she hadn't seen sunlight coming down it, so clearly it was weirdly shaped.

There was a little coal cracking in the fireplace now, the dull red of the fire reflecting off a sheet of copper at the back and mixing oddly with the soft green glow of the crystals as she sat on the bed – which had a big heap of furs on it, most of them looking like they'd been dyed in reds or blacks or browns – and sorted through her bags.

Sweet, merciful Agni was she grateful for that little coal fire. Father had taught her a really useful little Firebending trick to make heat without making fire, and while she'd been doing it outside a little, one had to be awake to Bend.

It was a good trick, too – Father had first taught it to her and her brothers as a way to help make sore muscles feel better after a long bit of training. It was kind of like hot rocks, but without the rock. Which meant you didn't have anything to throw when your brothers were being stupid but Momma and Father didn't like it when she threw things at them anyway(Even though Momma had taught her a bunch of ways to throw stuff at _bad_ people)

Thinking of that, she quickly checked her sleeve. They were longer than normal on these heavy robes (She was nowhere near crazy enough to try and go out of this nice warm room with its fireplace in anything less) but she could still reach the hilts of the little daggers just fine. She didn't use them much anyway, since the Firebending was more Proper, but it was nice to know other things.

She busied herself for a few minutes putting things away and getting a closer look at things. Akagi was in the main room, or her own bedroom, and not in _here_, so she could climb up things to get closer looks at the skylight or the crystals; or get down on the floor and get a close look at the patterns that whoever had Bent it had left. It was kind of neat.

* * *

Dinner was... well, she'd kept her Content Princess face on for all of it, but it had been a bit of a struggle. The food was weird and bland and heavy. The people were all strangers – except for Akagi and Sokka, she'd never even seen any of them before today. Everyone was polite, even if some of them were being the kind of polite that usually meant they'd rather hit you, but she didn't mind that part so much. She always got a few of those at home. She was a little disappointed that the Avatar wasn't there, but they told her he was flying his daughter to the Capitol.

She was the youngest person in the room tonight – one of only two children there, and Kenzin seemed to be ignoring her in favour of chatting with some of the other Benders. People were either politely ignoring her, shooting her unhappy looks, or talking over her. Nobody was talking _to_ her, except for Sokka, and even he spent most of the meal chatting with other grownups. Finally, the meal ended, and she said her good byes. As she and Akagi walked back through the streets in the odd, extended polar twilight, fatigue and a profound loneliness started to weigh her down. Years of etiquette lessons held her head high and her expression neutral until they got into the privacy of their rooms.

Then she broke down; the hard reality of being so utterly separated from home and family and all that was familiar slamming down hard, and she clung to the sole rock of familiarity with her, crying herself to sleep in her bodyguard's arms.


	3. Fair Winds and Still Currents

_Author's Notes: yeah, it's late. I was struggling to put it together for a while, then life dealt me one off the bottom of the deck. I should be able to get the next one done sooner, I hope._

_Disclaimer: I own none of the situations, settings, and characters involved herein and I make no claim to them. I'm writing this purely for my own amusement and to get these plot bunnies out of my head._

Fair Winds and Still Currents

_No matter how many times I see it,_thought Fire Lord Zuko as he watched Appa descend smoothly into the Royal courtyard, _I don't think I'll ever get over how smooth the beast makes it look._

With a bare shuffle of leathery feet on fitted stones, the Sky Bison landed, and the figures in its saddle descended. Aang lept down in a single bound, landing almost as smoothly as Appa had, then reached up to help his elder child. Beside him, Katara slid down the beast's flanks with the ease of long practice. Then an elder warrior – Zuko's memory supplied the name Bato, though he hadn't seen the man since the first round of peace talks in Ba Sing Se fifteen years ago – descended himself, not so graceful as the others, but with a spryness that defied his advancing years.

Wife and sons at his side, Zuko watched for a moment as the Avatar's party organized itself, then both groups exchanged bows. "Avatar Aang, I welcome you and your family to the Fire Nation."

To his credit, Aang almost looked serious as he replied. As close as the Airbender ever got, really. "Fire Lord Zuko, we thank you for your welcome, and for this opportunity. You know my wife, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, of course, but I am pleased to introduce my daughter, Yangchen."

The girl – small for her age – stepped forward and gave a slightly awkward bow, then an uneasy smile. Zuko returned both, met her eyes for a moment. She looked away, then glanced back, her own eyes, the dark blue of a storm-tossed ocean, fixed on his scar, then almost convulsively looked away again. Zuko resisted the urge to wince with long practice, and said, "Welcome to the Fire Nation, daughter of the Avatar." Straightening, he gestured to his family. "This is my wife, Fire Lady Mai, and my sons, Lu Ten-" the eldest son nodded, his expression cheerful - "And Tomak." His youngest, still of that age where boys considered girls 'icky' was at least managing a courtly neutral expression.

Yangchen managed another bow and spoke softly. "It is an honour to be here, and to – to have this opportunity to learn." A pause. "Thank you, Fire Lord Zuko."

The girl seemed to falter for a moment, but her father stepped up. "In accordance with the arrangement, Chief Hakoda has sent an escort for his daughter; the warrior Bato." The scarred tribesman gave a respectful bow, then gave Zuko a measuring look; one the Fire Lord returned. He wasn't sure what the older man saw in him, but what Zuko saw impressed him. Bato seemed very controlled, very calm, and very alert. Age and wounds had not slowed him, and it was clear that while he didn't intend to make things hard on either of them, he took his responsibilities to young Yangchen more seriously than any niceties.

Given the silver-tongued scorpion-vipers Zuko had to deal with in court on a daily basis, it was downright refreshing.

Katara and Mai exchanged a few very, _very_ polite words – the two had never gotten along, which had, over the years, inspired any number of strange theories. The wildest and most enduring – one that all three of them knew was patently false and had denied several times, which had done absolutely nothing to slow it down – being that it was due to the Fire Lord and the master Waterbender having some sort of lurid affair. Zuko hated that rumor, if only because it implied he was stupid enough to aggravate the Avatar and his wife at the same time. Still, for the two of them, their exchange was downright polite; possibly mindful of the children.

_On that thought_... Zuko glanced to his sons. Tomak was chattering with the Avatar, now back on the bison and passing down luggage. Lu Ten did his manful best to help with one of Yangchen's bags. At forteen, his eldest, thankfully, took more after his great uncle than his father... and while his smile was genuine and his tone light, whatever he'd just said caused the shy, dusky-complexioned Yangchen to blush darkly.

It also drew a faint growl from Bato, which Zuko wholeheartedly agreed with. Though a few of the Palace Guard in earshot didn't much like the look the elder warrior was giving the Fire Prince. Zuko gave a small gesture, telling them to reign it in, and exchanged glances with the Water Tribesman, a look that said 'I'll have a word with him.'

The dark skinned man gave a short nod, then hefted his bundled gear. As Zuko approached the Sky Bison – carefully, it would do nothing for his dignity if Appa decided to give him his traditional greeting – he returned a little offhand wave from Aang(If the Avatar did it, responding in kind was still dignified). The Airbender lightly tossed him one of the bags, and he caught the smallish turtle-sealskin duffle handily, then ruffled his youngest's hair. "Helping the Avatar, Tomak?"

"Yes Father." The little lad smiled up at him, then back to the Airbender.

Aang smiled back down and said, "I've got a bag for you, but it's got to be handled carefully – ready to catch?"

Tomak's arms went up, and he shifted into a ready stance, eight-year-old face scrunching up in sudden seriousness. He gave the Airbender a sharp nod, who gently lobbed a bulky sack, landing it right into the boy's waiting arms. Tomak caught it easily, blinked. "It's light! What is it?"

The Airbender slung one last bag over a shoulder and hopped down with his usual grace. "It's a collection of Waterbending scrolls. Be careful with them, please."

Zuko surprised himself with a snort of laughter. "The irony of being trusted, by you and Katara, with a Waterbending scroll is huge."

The master Waterbender heard him. "Well, I think we've all grown up enough to trust each other." A pause, then, "I don't like the situation, but Sokka's explained how it all came together. We'll all just have to make the best of it." Aang rolled his eyes but was smart enough to refrain from comment. She continued, tone a little softer, "Aang and I have to stop in Ba Sing Se for a few days, but we'll be back at the Pole soon. Do you want us to carry a message?"

Zuko and Mai exchanged glances – then Mai spoke. "We'd planned to send letters with the next merchantman heading that way, but if you're offering... Give us a few minutes to write one?"

"Of course. We'll need some time to get Yangchen and Bato's things moved to their quarters anyway."

For a brief moment, Zuko considered pointing to the numerous porters who they had standing by for just such tasks. Then he had an attack of good sense. The Southern Water Tribe, it seemed, hadn't picked up the habits of nobility their Northern brethren posessed. He dismissed the porters with a discrete wave, making a mental note to make sure they understood that this _wasn't_ an insult later, and signaled one of the attending Royal Guard over. "In that case, Captain Zang can lead you to the diplomatic quarters. Once we have a message ready, we'll join you, and work things out from there."

* * *

Yangchen was feeling a little bit better about everything, now that she'd had a few hours on the ground to let things sink in. She was a little used to Papa being away, since he was often busy with Avatar Stuff, and Momma often went with him. She could handle this, she _could_, especially since she had Bato around.

It was just going to be... interesting. Yes. That was the best word for it. She'd be just fine. Momma had lost her own mother by this age; being away for a while was nothing. She wasn't alone, not by any means. Bato's room was across the hall, and there were so many people living here – the palace alone had almost as many people living and working in it as the entire Southern Water Tribe's main city. The city beyond it had been big and bustling too, as they'd overflown it. Not anything near as big as Ba Sing Se, perhaps, but nowhere was as big as that. Momma and Papa and Uncle Sokka all agreed about that, and they'd told her about other places, and she'd even visited some of them, when Avatar Stuff had been turned into family trips.

But the Fire Capitol was new. And a little intimidating. Papa had raised her to think well of everyone, but Momma and Uncle Sokka and Grandpapa had all suggested... more caution. She wasn't sure who was right. So far, she was leaning a bit towards caution. Everything here seemed... weird to her. The Fire Lord was scarey and dangerous-looking, his wife was all dour and dangerous and Mamma didn't like her, his older son was weird and flirty and his youngest... well, Tomak, from what she'd seen so far, was a lot like her own little brother, except more serious than Kenzin ever was.

And the palace was full of serious people, either warriors trying to look intimidating or others running around like they had no time at all. And some of them seemed to try really hard not to be noticed, doing chores and such in the background. She'd seen people like that back in the Earth Kingdom before, and she hadn't really liked it then either. Someone who takes care of you shouldn't have to pretend not to be there.

Still, she was supposed to learn more about things here, and she'd do just that; she was a good girl. Even if it _was_ way too hot, and everything was black or red or dark brown, without any nice soft blues, and the people were weird and scary. She was almost eleven years old, she wasn't a child anymore, and she'd be _fine._

* * *

Just the smell of the food was enough to make Bato's eyes water.

Not all of it, mind; there were a few dishes that smelled only mildly spicier than what sane people would eat. And at least a goodly portion of it looked like fish. Even if they spiced it like mad, the fish would probably be safe enough.

It was a small meal, not a grand production. The Fire Lord was playing host, along with his family, to the both of them. Thank some friendly spirit, that was it for guests. Yangchen might be able to keep her polite, happy airs about her, but he wasn't in the mood to do an act. The little one had a fair measure of her mother's ability to project a mask of calm or happiness.

Dinner conversation wasn't much. Polite nothings, the sort of shit that diplomats loved. Aang would probably love it, he thrived in little chats like this. Spirits, the little Airbender had a knack for turning such things into useful chats. So did Sokka, when he was in good form. It was a knack Bato considered himself rather unsuited for – oh, he was good at playing Koh's Advocate in a planning session, if one was needed, someone to keep the planners from getting too set on one thing that they'd never consider anything else, but he preferred to avoid verbal sparring. The real kind was enough for him, thank you very much.

Still, a little observation would hardly be amiss.

The Fire Lord was still marked by the hard years of his youth in some ways; eating like he might have to drop everything and fight or flee at any moment. Oh, he didn't raven like a tiger-wolf, but he didn't waste any time. Even here, in his own fortress, he was alert, watching the corners despite the guards lurking in them. His wife, by contrast, was... not graceful, her movements – every movement – were too controlled and measured to really be graceful, but... measured and precise. He'd bet plenty on her being as dangerous as her reputation claimed.

The boys were simpler, in many ways. Lu Ten, he'd been told, took after his Great Uncle. As inspirations went, the Dragon of the West was better than most, and he couldn't fault the lad for the choice. Even if he'd apparently decided that forteen was old enough to start on the womanizing part of the old general's reputation. He was, at least, smart enough to pick his battles. He was polite and a little funny, but proper, with Yangchen now, unlike right after landing.

Tomak, being much younger – if the lad was eight, Bato'd be surprised – was much quieter and doing his best to seem serious. Given the level of 'serious' and 'dour' his parents projected, it was perhaps inevitable that one of their kids would turn out that way. Possibly two; he'd have to see what he could find out about their daughter.

Absent-minded, he wound up taking a bite of something that was spiced far more than it had a right to be. He tried to cover the sudden inferno with a cough, poured himself a big glass of the fruit juice that'd been served. A glance surprised a smirk from Lu Ten, though the boy quickly schooled his features to neutral passivity. Tomak was less successful at hiding his reaction. He thought baleful thoughts about rude children and foreign foods, and concentrated on his eating. His contribution to the scant small talk would hardly be missed.

* * *

The corridor, at this hour, should be all but silent. While the palace never truly slept, parts of it did, and the diplomatic quarters were one of those parts. The sun had set a few hours ago, and Zuko had been wandering simply to burn off some nervous energy. He hadn't consciously headed for the Diplomatic Quarters, but he'd wound up in that direction anyway.

And he could hear, muffled by the walls somewhat, but still distinct, a man singing.

Curious, he walked down the corridor, and was unsurprised to find that the sound was coming from the guest quarters they'd set aside for the Avatar's daughter. This close, he could make out the song well enough to know that whatever tongue Bato was singing in, it wasn't one he himself spoke. But Zuko was a father, and he recognized a lullaby when he heard one. He hesitated for a moment, considered leaving before he was seen – if they didn't know he was aware of such unease, there was no way for them to lose face because of it – when the singing stopped.

_Definitely time to go,_ he thought, and started back up the corridor. He'd just disappear and work off his nervous energy some other way before going to bed(Mai did not mind an energetic husband, most nights, but she did mind it when he was nervy). He almost made it to the corner when he heard the door open and close behind him.

Bato's voice was quiet, but pitched to carry. "I'm sorry if we disturbed anyone, Fire Lord."

_Damn. _"No disturbance. I couldn't sleep anyway, I was just passing by."

The scarred warrior nodded genially. "Lot of that going around. She's fine, just a bit restless." A small smile. "One advantage of being her uncle in all but blood, my lullabies help her sleep."

_Well, he wouldn't have mentioned it if it _was _an issue of face for his people... yet another thing to think about_. "You think she'll be okay?"

"Oh, probably. Might be a rough first week or so, but I'm sure she'll manage. Her family is good at enduring." A pause. "Thank you for your concern, Fire Lord. Rest well."

"And yourself, Bato of the Southern Water Tribe."

* * *

There were a number of tiled courtyards within the walls of the Fire Palace intended for use in various types of Bending practice, and most days, the assorted functionaries, servants, bureaucrats, and petty nobility wouldn't pay that practice any real mind. Oh, a little, of course. If nothing else, there was a certain... confidence builder in watching the Fire Lord's children as they learned. While none of the three was the sort of prodigy their aunt – spoken of in whispers if she was spoken of at all – had been, it was clear that the power of the Royal blood ran thick in their veins, despite their non-Bending mother. In light of that, little irregularities like Fire Prince Lu Ten learning the sword, or Fire Princess Ursa learning the art of the throwing iron, could be ignored. Their parents were certainly unconventional, which made some oddities in their children inevitable.

Today, of course, they had something new to watch, something that was rare in the Fire Nation. Today, they got to watch a young Waterbender practice her art.

Yangchen was in the center of the little courtyard, lost in the steps and sweeps and motions of her forms, running through a number of kata. The contents of her waterskin flowed and spiraled around her, and she kept a careful concentration, losing almost none of the liquid to lapses in concentration. The bucket Bato had fetched was still mostly full at his feet where he stood oh-so-very-politely, spear held in the crook of his arm, but not at the ready, keeping an eye on things. On a table next to him lay a few Waterbending scrolls, and he'd be doing his manful best to help her work through them later on.

Probably not today, however. Yangchen was more concerned with getting herself settled. Tomorrow, she'd be starting lessons with some of the local noble children. Neither of them was terribly sure they were looking forward to that. Yangchen because she'd seen enough of places other than the Southern Water Tribe to know that she'd probably not fit in all that well, and that'd likely not be fun to deal with. She hoped Ursa would be luckier back home. She'd probably get a decent welcome; they were used to strange people showing up. Most of them followed Uncle Sokka home.

So for now, she wasn't thinking about that. She was just Bending, only vaguely aware of her audience. The water flowed around her, streamers and globules and droplets, sparkling in the early morning sun. She continued her kata for most of an hour, familiar motions and the movement of chi in water settling her nerves. Finally, she came to a stop, smoothly returning her water to the skin and capping it.

Applause filled the courtyard, and the young Waterbender blushed furiously.

* * *

Back in her room, the Waterbender mechanically went through her things, digging out fresh clothing. It might still be early in the day – hours before noon – but it was already ridiculously hot so far as she was concerned. She'd been wearing her lightest robes, light silk that she'd never worn before this trip – they'd be downright suicidal at the poles. Fortunately, she had another, similarly light outfit, one that she hadn't spent an hour being sweaty in. And everyone had been watching her, and liked her Waterbending, but it was still embarrassing...

Clothing dealt with, she put everything back in order. She wanted to explore this place while she had the opportunity, see what there was to see. Bato ought to be waiting for her, to be a big blue shadow wherever she went. She was skilled enough to protect herself with her Bending, but having a big warrior looming would help stop problems from starting.

From one corner of the room came a faint click and the sound of low voices. She turned, saw two girls near her own age in dingy brown robes walk out of a hidden door. She smiled at them "Hi."

The girls froze, looked at her with surprised expressions. After a moment, the taller girl bowed. "My apologies, honoured guest, we did not mean to disturb you."

"No disturbance – and stand up! I was just tidying up." A pause. _These must be 'servants.' _"If you'd give me a hand, it'd be great." A pause, as the germ of an idea took root. _I _am_ supposed to be learning about how things work in the Fire Nation. Why not look at some of the stuff they don't like to show people, too? I will _not _fail at the task Momma and Papa gave me._ "And after that, I could help you with your other work! I'd love to see what you do."

* * *

Bato tried to keep the growing panic that boiled inside him from spilling forth. _Where in the icy depths did she go? Not even one day..._

He was moving quickly through the halls, watching for any sign of a wayward Waterbender. He'd waited outside her room for an hour, knowing she'd probably need a little time to get her composure back after being embarrassed. He'd not meant to cause her any problems, and it had seemed harmless to let people watch her practice so long as they were _only_ watching, but clearly the girl was feeling more out of place than he'd thought. He'd been patient out in the hall, giving her time to calm down.

But after an hour, well, the time had come to make sure she was fine. He'd knocked. After getting no answer, he'd gone in, and she wasn't there. Nobody else had gone in; he'd been right there the whole time; precious few had even gone into that hall. So he had to find her. Before anything happened to her.

He'd been all through the parts of the Palace open to guests; the various meeting halls and the Royal Court and the various courtyards and gardens. He'd checked most of the residential areas, too, and found a way into the underground tunnels Sokka had mentioned; the ones that Ozai had sheltered in during the Day of Black Sun. Nothing. Now he was starting to get desperate. _If something _has _happened to her,_ he thought glumly, _It'll be nothing but a contest between Aang, Hakoda, and Katara to see who kills me over it. Not even a day... I knew this was a bad idea..._

Trying to find his way into the last of the residential wings – the layout of this place was bizarre, the result, he'd gathered, from lots of remodeling since the war – he spotted a seam in the stone in a shadowed corner. Ice trickling down his spine, the blue-clad warrior moved to it.

"Tui and La," he muttered. "It's a door..." Slightly ajar, the door opens at his touch, and the warrior slips through it, into a narrow passage. _If this whole stone warren is shot through with these, nobody would have _had _to slip past me... what are they for?_

His mind was still chewing on that question when he heard the sound of laughter. Even now, pushing sixty, he could slip through the darkness in almost total silence; a youth spent hunting in the icy wastes and years at war fighting an enemy they could never match, strength to strength, where that enemy was weak. He slid through the dark passage, around the occasional cart laden with sheets and whatnot. The voices and laughter were coming from right in front of him, and he just edged around a corner enough to see...

Face smudged with dust, some kind of brown robe on, sleeves rolled up and Bending steaming hot water, heavy with suds, through a sheet being held over a tub by two other girls around the same age, Yangchen was grinning and giggling. The three girls chattered rapid fire as they went through what looked like a great stack of laundry, and it took a few moments before they noticed him, standing there with jaw agape.

The girls immediately paniced, while Yangchen just waved. "Hi Bato! I made some friends! This is Meng, and Lua Chon. We've been cleaning."

"You've... you've been doing laundry for the last four hours? Since you disappeared out of your room?" He knew full well he sounded as dazed as an ox-pig that'd just been crowned with an axe handle, but he couldn't help it.

"First we went through lots of the living quarters, all over the palace except for the Northeast Wing, since nobody lives there anymore, but yeah. I've learned lots about the Fire Nation from Meng and Lua." The girls, realizing that he wasn't mad, both relaxed, and gave the scarred warrior tentative smiles.

For a long moment, Bato just stared, then he burst out laughing. "Oh, child, don't scare me like that again! I thought something bad had happened."

"Erm, sorry?" She gave a smile that looked so like her father he almost laughed again. "I should have mentioned it, I guess..."

He waved it off, settled onto a spare stool. "Ask next time. If you want to keep this up, don't let me stop you. We've a few hours until supper."

* * *

In the end, they'd drawn the warrior into their cleaning, and gotten the whole lot of the laundry done much quicker than the acerbic old woman who was in charge of the housekeeping had expected. After exchanging a glance with Bato that was a mix of bemused and annoyed, she dismissed the girls early for the day, and now the three of them were chattering happily in Yangchen's room while he stood outside, main door cracked so he'd hear if something happened.

He'd gotten another look at the servant's passageways, and decided he'd keep that little bit of information under his proverbial hat. If any would-be attackers didn't know he could use them, well, it'd make any attempts on their parts to harm his charge rather trickier.

Though honestly, he wished there was a friendly Earthbender around he could get to just seal the damned things, at least to her room.

But thinking of it all, it put things on a fairly even keel. He'd worried, somewhat, that the girl he loved like his very own granddaughter would feel alone and isolated here, but she'd made herself some friends. That was no small blessing for her, and he was glad of it.

And – he couldn't help but smirk for a moment, thinking of this part – she took more after her uncle than they'd realized. The very moment she'd had a chance to see another side of things, she'd taken it. Sokka'd be proud, when he heard, probably almost as proud as Aang and Katara. Their little girl was going to throw her all into this. And given what her parents had accomplished when they threw their all into things, well, it ought to work, one way or another.


	4. The Patience of Stone

_Disclaimer: I still don't own this, which is probably for the best. No money being made here, just having fun._

The Patience of Stone

The Great Library at Ba Sing Se University was probably the greatest stronghold of mortal knowledge on the face of the planet. With the fall of the Dai Li, their own treasure trove of books, bending scrolls, and secrets had been added(at least in part) to the collection. Exactly what had happened to the parts of that trove that hadn't made it to the library was... a subject very few people liked to talk about, and it was generally politely ignored.

Still, somewhere in those archives had been a handful of Airbending Scrolls, which had been given to Avatar Aang as a gift. The Airbender had undertaken, at no small expense, to have copies made by way of an Earthbent press, and distributed to every major library across the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. The blood of the Airbenders had been brutally thinned by Sozin's destruction of the temples, but it still flowed in scattered pockets. Avatar Aang had stated repeatedly that he considered fostering the return of Airbending to be one of his greatest goals, even if he himself did not live to see its completion. And even while he lived, he could not be everywhere. Making sure any emerging Airbender had access to scrolls would be a help. Not so great as flying bison, but he still needed to find more of those. There had to be some _somewhere_.

The Avatar was in the Great Library, socked away in a remote corner. Bending wasn't entirely on his mind, today, as he worked his way though a stack of scrolls. He was getting better at studying dry texts, picking out the useful data... but if he was honest, he'd come to rely on Sokka's knack for it to cover him in that area. He couldn't use that fallback right now for a few reasons, least of which was that Sokka was half a world away right now, down at the pole.

The larger reason was that he was reading these scrolls – accounts of old Earth Kingdom customs and traditions – because he needed to know if his friends had guessed right about this. He needed to _know_, he didn't need a summary or condensed version. He looked up from the scroll he was reading, absently rubbing at his forehead and trying to banish the drumming sensation he felt there, then ran one hand over his scalp, felt a day's stubble there. _Have to shave tonight,_ he thought absently.

He'd been reading for hours, since just after he finished giving a lecture on the day-to-day life of the Air Nomad temples. His lectures had become a staple of the University's first year of Archeology instruction, and he'd be giving another tomorrow. A glance at a window showed that the light was starting to fade outside, which meant that it was time to pack it up for the night. Quickly, he returned his scrolls to their shelves and, exchanging a few polite words with the staff, left the campus, walking towards the palace, and his waiting diplomatic quarters.

_There are a number of traditions around the Earth King, and his importance to the spiritual health of Ba Sing Se. None of them appear to conflict with travel or have much to do with the Earth King's children, especially not before they come of age._ A pause, and a frown. _I suppose there might have been something in the scrolls I hadn't gotten to yet. And I suppose you could make the argument that the decline of Ba Sing Se into fear under Long Feng's shadowy leadership, and it's defeat by Azula could indicate that without the Earth King ruling directly, the city loses its unasailability. But that's splitting hairs; whatever Long Feng was doing, Kuei still technically held the power._

He rubbed his forehead again, slowly working his way to the conclusion that the people who'd suggested he arrange to let either Arnook or Kuei foster one of Zuko's sons for a year may have not been doing it for the same reasons he'd thought it was a good idea. He'd looked into the tradition, as it existed in the Earth Kingdom, and he was forced to agree with his wife: in most situations it was every bit as bad, or worse, than a Water Tribe kin holding. Just cleaned up for general consumption, which somehow almost made it worse. He didn't like the lie of it. He wanted to make this peace last; to build a peace that would last longer than the war he'd ended. And if leaders he trusted just wanted reprisals, wanted to take them in subtle ways after he stopped them from taking them overtly, that would make the peace much harder to create. And harder to maintain.

He _believed_ in the idea of learning about other places and peoples and cultures. He knew, deep down in his bones, that it would be helpful, and the idea, as it had been presented to him (and, he suspected to Kuei, who didn't have a malicious bone in his body) had been all about that. The idea of an exchange was even better, as it could spread that knowledge around. And, he'd hoped in a slightly cynical way that he blamed entirely on Sokka, if Royal children could be publicly known to get some education and a general good time in another Nation, well, it might inspire other rich families to send their own children to some prestigious foreign academy; make it a trendy thing to do. Rich and powerful families in the Earth Kingdoms and the Fire Nation had certainly done stupider things to prove they had the money and power to do them over the years; the idea of tricking them into that sort of 'keeping up with the Lees' mentality with something good appealed to his inner trickster. He'd backed the idea of sending Lu Ten to Ba Sing Se because its university and other scholarly institutes were simply head and shoulders better than any equivalents in the Water Tribes, North or South.

He hoped that he could still accomplish his aim, still build a peace that would last. He just wished he didn't have to get into the unpleasant twisty-think himself to do it. Finally, as the sunset started to turn the skies red and amber, he trudged into his suite in the palace.

Katara was waiting for him, enjoying some tea while reviewing a scroll – it looked like old Northern Bending forms – as he walked in. "How did the research go?" she asked in a deceptively mild tone.

_Amazing how much I wind up saying this... _"Not quite done, but so far, it looks like... you were right and I was wrong."

* * *

Iroh the Teamaker, General, Grand Lotus, Crown Prince, and Dragon of the West, was starting to feel the years catch up to him. Truth to tell, age had been stalking him for some time now, he had simply plied all his considerable talents in eluding it... and they were proving more dedicated to the stalk than he was. Still, the running of his tea shop was well within his capabilities, and the Jasmine Dragon was still a going concern that made more than enough to keep him comfortable, with enough socked away to _keep_ him comfortable in his inevitable dotage.

He had not been the first man to break the outer walls of Ba Sing Se, and drive through Earthbender controlled land to a bowshot of the inner walls, without learning to plan ahead.

So when Katara of the Southern Water Tribe walked into his tea shop, looking pensive, he had a fairly good idea what he wanted to say to her before she'd even been seated. Fortunately, it was early enough in the day for business to be slow, and he was able to turn over brewing to one of his apprentices to join her at her table.

They exchanged a few pleasantries as his understudy prepared her usual – to the satisfaction of both teacher and customer – and then he came to business. "So, what brings you to my humble teashop, Lady Katara?"

"Aang," she replied after a moment's hesitation. "And what his plan is, and why he's so determined to make it work." A pause. "And perhaps some wisdom for trying to make things easier for a lonely girl at the South Pole."

The old Firebender nodded sagely, sipped at his tea for a moment. "The fact that you feel it so important to try to make things easier on my grand-niece is a very good first step." He met her gaze over the rim of his teacup. "It will help, I think, to remember your own time as a lonely girl at the South Pole; the only Bender among those who could not."

The Waterbended nodded slowly, expression growing clouded. "I'll try that... and try to be... well, I'm probably too old for a friend, but supportive. I _do _remember how it felt to be around so many people who just didn't understand why I found the tides and the moonlight so... enthralling."

"For little Ursa, it will likely be dawn, and any standing fires she can find." A sip of tea. "But the theory should be sound. A polar winter will be unkind to her, as will a long polar night, but if I know my nephew he has picked for her a bodyguard who has lived through those herself, and can help prepare the youth." Another sip. "Would it be too forward of this old man to ask why the Avatar has so dedicated himself to this course?" He suspected he already knew, but Katara could give him a confirmation, and that was nothing to be tossed aside.

"He's trying to give the people running things all over more reasons to want peace, he wants to hold things together."

"A worthy goal, and one I suspect will elude him until my generation is out of those positions of power." A sip, and he watched for a few moments as the gears turned in the woman's mind. When he felt she had nearly realized his meaning, he continued. "My generation has spent most of our lives at war; it still seems more normal than peace. Yours has known both in near-equal measure now, and peace will become the greater in due time, if Aang has his way. For my part, I will do what little I can to help facilitate things."

That pulled a girlish giggle from the dark-skinned woman. "Coming from you, that actually means a great deal of aid. Thank you."

* * *

Aang and Katara had made good time as they returned to the pole from Ba Sing Se, and had enjoyed two blessed days at home before he'd had to leave; off to help deal with the inevitable damage the coming storm season was going to do to the old Fire Nation colonies and put out any brushfires – literal or figurative – that might spring up in the meantime. Storm season, with its extreme weather, trade disruptions, and generalized damage, always seemed to spark something, so being in the region was always a good thing, so far as he was concerned. His time at home had been well spent for all it was short; he'd spent some time flying with Kenzin, helping his son master that part of Airbending, and generally working on his control. He'd also taken a few hours to give Fire Princess Ursa and her bodyguard a lesson in Firebending, trying to get a feel for how the girl was doing. The answer was 'fairly well,' which made him feel slightly vindicated.

Though he had to admit... getting home and _not_ finding his daughter there had... hurt a little. He hadn't realized how much of a touchstone it was for him, always knowing his children were safe at the pole. Katara hadn't gloated, per se, at his reaction, but she certainly took a bit of satisfaction from his understanding of her point of view. In the end, though, it just re-enforced his desire for this whole thing to work.

He'd put a _lot_ of effort into ending the last war – and came very close to losing his soul – and he was going to do everything he could to keep another one from breaking out. He wanted peace to be his legacy, the thing he was remembered for. Roku had been fairly hands-off, politically, and his legacy was no small part of Sozin's war. Kuruk had been even more hands-off, and only a spectacular turn of luck – he'd admitted as much, the last time he'd spoke to the older Avatar's spirit in his meditations – had kept the relative peace of his age. Kyoshi had been very politically active, and perhaps too heavy-handed, leaving a very mixed legacy. Avatar Yangchen had kept her own time peaceful by being the wind – a light touch, but those light touches everywhere. Aang wanted his legacy to be like hers.

More, he wanted to get things to the point where the peace would not simply break down between the time of his own death and the rise of the next Avatar, wherever he or she was born. Logically, the next Avatar, a Water Tribe Avatar, would be born in the Northern Water Tribe, for the north was vastly bigger than the south and had so many more Benders. Katara was hoping that the next Avatar would be born of the Southern Water Tribe – and not for the best part of a century, or longer, if the two of them could manage it.

Sokka agreed with Aang's logic in thinking of the North, but he hoped that the next Avatar would come from the Foggy Swamp, "Because you gotta admit, it'd shake things up, and offend the heck out of some of the traditionalists up north."

They all agreed that they didn't want to find out who was right for as long as possible, though. He appreciated that part.

He was flying alone on Appa, just below a layer of thin clouds, two days out at sea. On the horizon, he could see that the clouds were growing thicker, darker, and more brooding. The beginnings of the storm season, indeed. He'd probably be busy for a while.

* * *

The ground _squelched_ underfoot as Aang cleared the results of what looked like a storm-induced rockslide off the mountain road. The hillside had come down two nights ago, wiping out the road almost completely – Aang and the other Earthbender working on road cleanup were going off a map to rebuild the road as much as anything else – and hadn't run out of momentum until it had clipped the edge of town. Fortunately, while there had been many people injured, none had been killed, and the injuries were all simple enough for his admittedly limited grasp of healing Waterbending to handle. He'd already cleared the one creek, which provided about a third of the colonial town's water supplies along with a few wells(one of which also needed to be repaired, but one of the local Benders was on it, a man with a far more delicate touch at Earthbending than he had himself). In the short term, at least, water supply was not an issue – while this valley was between major storm fronts, it had been drizzling steadily all day.

Clearing and grading a road, however, didn't take all _that_ much fine control, and was well within his abilities. Especially with his Waterbending keeping the day's drizzle out of the immediate area he was grading. Earthbending the rock to high pressure got most water out, but not as well as Waterbending it clear. Water trapped in the rock could heat up and burst, breaking up the road, or freeze and crack it come winter.

Even with his help, it would take the handful of Earthbenders who lived here a week or so to reopen this road; especially the portion in the pass above. Fortunately for them, he hadn`t come alone.

Ahead of him, Toph Bei Fong, generally accepted as the Greatest Earthbender in the World, moved with strength and economy as she worked, clearing and grading the road all at once as she moved; even erecting a guardrail of sorts along the downhill edge. And unlike Aang, she could manage enough finesse to prevent water getting into her roadbed with Earthbending alone. Between the two of them, they'd have the road open again by late tomorrow, leaving the locals to fix up their homes and water supply.

The years had been kind to her. She'd grown tall and strong, fully as tall as her old Earth Rumble friend/rival The Boulder, and almost as muscular. She had a rough beauty, like uncut jade, and she didn't mind showing it off. She also, he knew from experience, cleaned up rather well, when she felt she had to. She and her parents had come to a sort of truce, and she spent her days mostly wandering, learning any regional-style secrets of Earthbending she didn't already have, occasionally helping him deal with stuff, and even more occasionally representing her parent's business concerns at official functions.

He'd been lucky to run into her a few days ago, luckier than he'd realized at the time. Now, the two of them worked on the road together in companionable silence, broken occasionally by his sifu to offer some critique or suggestion on his technique. By late afternoon they had a goodly portion of the pass cleared, and when a local came trudging up the new road, bearing news that the well had been fixed, a small barrel of water, and some food, they came to silent consent that it was fine time for a quick break.

As she chewed on dark bread, Toph said, "Heard about your little swap with Zuko. You finally snapped, Aang?"

"Nah," he replied, taking a drink. The light drizzle was almost making the day's heat worse. "There's a method to my madness. If you had to guess, how much would you say the average Earth Kingdom person knows about the Water Tribes?"

"Fish, ice, and Waterbending," she answered, adjusting her wide-brimmed hat. "So what?"

"Okay, now, how much do you think they know about the Fire Nation?"

"Bad guys, Firebending, steel, and steam."

"And how much do _you_ know about them?"

"Oh, tons more thanks to Sugar Queen, Snoozles, and Sparky. What's your-" she chopped off in mid-sentence. "Huh. You figure two people knowing how the other nations work will help us all get along better?"

"Well, I also figure that if the Royals do it, enough nobles will do it too, to prove they're rich and powerful enough to live like Royalty does, to spread the knowledge around some."

"Huh. Interesting way to do it... turning Noble idiocy into a productive force. That's just twisted."

Aang shrugged. "Airbender."

Toph barked a laugh. "Point." A pause, and she took a swig of water. "How'd Katara take it?"

Aang rubbed the back of his head a moment, smiling ruefully. "Well..."

* * *

The trip down to the South Pole had been... stressful. Aang had a sinking suspicion that he'd overstepped his Husbandly Authority by agreeing without Katara, and was starting to get antsy about how she'd react. The fact that Sokka ignored requests, threats, cajolings, and even bribes of meat in exchange for his brother-in-law to break the news to his wife... didn't help. Sokka was determined to let him reap the consequences of his actions.

It was relatively early when they landed, landing next to Appa's stable, and the two men lept or slid down with their travel gear in hand. A short pause to get the saddle off, and they let Appa settle in his spot out of the wind and prepared to face the music. Sokka was smiling with false innocence as they approached the training grounds, an area of thick ice next to smoothed rock, used by both Waterbenders and Earthbenders as a general training and sparring area.

The city's Earthbenders, being a generally disunited and odd ball bunch from all over the Earth Kingdom, didn't really go in for formal training, but they'd Bent themselves an arena for workouts and the occasional Rumble. None of them were practicing right now, rather, Katara was leading a lesson, a number of other waterbenders, some older, most younger, though kata and forms. Sokka had stopped at the gate to the training ground, leaning against the ice wall that surrounded it (intended to reduce any collateral damage caused by spars) and smiled slightly as he watched the lanky Airbender approach his wife.

Katara smiled when she saw him, but it was a thin smile – she remembered clearly the argument they'd had before she'd gone home partway through their trip, and clearly, she was still a bit angry with him. A quiet signal told the assembled Benders that there'd be a break in lessons for the morning. Out of respect for the Avatar, they were going to give him a little privacy, at the very least, most leaving the grounds entirely, the rest moving out of easy earshot. Sokka's grin, and knowledge of the sorts of things that drew that kind of grin out of the canny warrior, might have had a bit to do with it as well.

He put on his brightest, most encouraging smile as he walked up to his wife, and they exchanged a hug, if one less enthusiastic than usual. "Good flight?" she asked.

"Just fine! So..." he foundered for a moment, then rallied his courage. "Good news! Not only did Zuko agree to my plan, he had a suggestion that made it even better."

Katara shook her head. "I'd think he knew better, given his own family history..." A sudden pause, and her expression went from disapproving to thoughtful. "What _kind_ of better plan?"

"One that's more widespread and effective and fair. Instead of just one of Zuko and Mai's kids going somewhere else, it'll be sort of an exchange."

Katara's tone became dangerously neutral. "And what will the first exchange be?"

Aang braced himself. "Ursa and Yangchen."

Even expecting it, the sudden surge of ice to furious ocean caught him off-guard. As the ice beneath his feet turned liquid, he jumped back, a wall of air deflecting the first whiplashing water tentacle, blowing it into mist, and then the fight was on.

Aang combined his Airbending and Waterbending to try and keep away from his enraged wife, some instinct screaming that he not take the offensive; simply weather the storm until she'd calmed down a little. He couldn't beat her with straight Waterbending, and he was too far from the stone portion of the grounds to get any quick defensive Earthbending started. Katara knew that, too, and she was doing a very good job of keeping him away from land. He could _just_ feel the seabed below, but it was far enough away to be out of any quick results with him in midair.

He never even considered Firebending. Not with his wife.

Aang was concentrating on his defense almost totally, letting Katara burn out her first spike of anger. Once she'd gotten it out of her system he'd have a chance to explain, and that'd work. He hoped. For now, he kept himself planted on a chunk of ice – holding it together with his Bending even as Katara tried to melt it with her own – and concentrated on airblasting waves, water whips, and icerazors. A cold, clinging mist formed as he blasted her attacks apart.

He realized that the mist was lingering far more than it should be, given the wind he was generating, almost in time. He'd just started to Waterbend it into the ocean below when Katara froze the mass of it solid, then, with him trapped, pealed away enough ice so he could talk. In a poisonously sweet tone, she asked, "Would you care to explain that in a little more detail, honey?"

* * *

As Toph whooped with laughter, Aang gave her a baleful look. "Not all that funny..."

"Speak for yourself, Twinkletoes. Hoo, boy. You really oughta've come up with a better way to break that news to her." A pause. "And that mist trick was a good one. Next time you see the Sugar Queen, pass her my compliments."

Aang smiled crookedly, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "I will. Truth to tell, I'm going to keep it in mind for the next time I wind up sparring with Master Pakku. I haven't used much Airbending against him before; it should probably work."

"And Sokka was just watching and laughing?"

"Katara snagged him too, iced him up, and we both had to explain. But still." He sighed. "I get that they're concerned, and I can sorta see why some people might _want_ Zuko and me mad at each other, but I still don't think that the kids'd be in any danger. Meng's one of the good guys."

Toph chuckled. "You must be talking about a different Governor Meng than I met. He's an opportunistic pig." A snif. "One of _those_ Nobles, who thinks that commoners are some other species. Even lesser nobility, like the Bei Fongs, are just pawns to him."

"For a guy who doesn't care about anyone, he's done a really good job making his district nicer to live in, and it's doing a lot of trading."

"The man likes his money. He's a good manager, Aang, but he's a jerk with people." A shrug. "I guess if it's making life better for people, it's probably helping the peace. Have to wander through there again myself sometime soon."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Last time around, I met a couple really good Earthbenders; the kind that can do all the subtle stuff that you struggle with. Got some nice tricks out of 'em."

Aang decided to ignore the shot at his Earthbending prowess. He was good enough at it for most purposes, even if he wasn't an _artiste _like Toph. "Sounds interesting. Why head back, though?"

"I've thought about it some, and I think I want to pass on _my_ secret techniques, not just be some kind of living catalog of Earthbending styles."

"Be quite the legacy."

"Yep." She finished off her drink, plunked the empty keg on the road. "Come on, we've got a road to rebuild."

Then she knocked Aang ass-over-teakettle with a playful(for her) slug in the arm.

* * *

Late the next day, the rockslide cleared and road repaired (indeed, with two Master Earthbenders handling the grading, it was better than it had been) the town held a small celebration. They didn't have much, and the slide had opened one of their storehouses to the wind and rain, but it was not a celebration lacking in enthusiasm, and a good time was had by all. Aang had put a little time into improving the drainage around the town as well, which out to help all through the storm season.

Aang and Toph were the guests of honor, and they enjoyed themselves for some hours, until night fell and the townsfolk started to drift home. This was not a rich town, and they would need to be up early the next day to get on with the business of life. Aang delicately inserted himself into the conversation Toph was having with the local Earthbenders as it, too wound down, and the incredibly perceptive blind woman, realizing he wanted to talk, said her good-nights. They went outside, into the light drizzle.

"What's up, Aang?" she asked, tone serious as she adjusted her hat to shed the rain more easily.

"I'd like to take a look at the ridge that came down. It was an awful long length of ridge to come down on its own all at once."

"Sokka's got you feeling paranoid. But I'll come look. Traces of Bending?"

"Yeah. I mean, I _hope_ we don't find anything, but..."

"But it doesn't hurt to look. Come on, Twinkletoes."

Aang closed his eyes as he followed Toph, seeing as she did, through the earth, and they picked their way through the rain-slicked darkness. Soon enough they were at the top of the ridge that overlooked road and town, and the two Master Earthbenders extended their chi into the rocks, feeling for any other influence or changes. They spent perhaps an hour at the task, and found no traces. Aang was much happier on the climb down.

* * *

"This is _not_ the scenario we wanted to create," growled the tall man.

Governor Meng shot him a look. "I am, in fact, aware of that. First that damnable Southern Water Tribe upstart conspired with the Fire Lord – traitorous little bastard, knowing his history you'd think of _all_ people, the son of Hakoda would want to see the Fire Nation open itself up to be destroyed – And the Avatar took their little suggestion and ran with it."

"You _could _have made use of what they suggested, you know. Kuei is many things, including far more levelheaded, calm, and easily handled than Ozai's brat. We could have... engineered an incident."

"With the only son of the Earth King in the Fire Lord's hands?"

"Kuei is still young. My people are keeping him safe, even if they _are_ doing it from hiding. He can produce another heir." Even in the pale green light of this chamber in the crystal catacombs, his smile glinted like a razor. "Our plant in his household can keep the Earth King under control. Unlike some people I could mention, _we _have learned from our past mistakes."

Meng bristled. "At least _I_ was never ousted by a girl a third my age."

The tall man's smile never faltered. "A miscalculation on my part, yes. But not a fatal one. My agents learned a great deal in the... aftermath of that little encounter. Information I intend to use when the time is right."

Long Feng, once the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and officially dead of suicide a few months after the Walls fell, gestured, summoning an aide. "Lu Shan will see you out, Governor. The Dai Li will bring this matter to a favorable conclusion. I'll see to it personally."

Meng found his voice again. "And what of the Avatar?"

The answering smile was cruel. "I will _handle_ the Avatar."


	5. Mirrors and Smoke

_Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: TLA and I make no claim on it. This is written purely for entertainment and as a tribute._

_Yeah, I know, it's late. I was on track to get it done and up on time, then the pipes under my sink decided to burst. Dealing with that was nontrivial._

Mirrors and Smoke

_History, art, calligraphy and lectures on behavior. When are they going to teach us something interesting?_

Yangchen was doing her best to look attentive; and for that matter be attentive, listening to what the teacher – an older woman in _very_ traditional robes with her hair up in a severe style, and a perpetual frown – was droning on about. Right now, the subject was a woman's role in a Respectable Household. Which mostly seemed to boil down to behaving 'honorably' and managing a small army of servants. Nothing about cooking or cleaning.

Surreptitious glances at her classmates revealed little. Most of them were curious about her as well, and she'd drawn more than a few surprised and shrewd looks for her blue silks, and for the leather waterskin at her hip. In a sea of reds, browns, rusts, and blacks, she stood out. And she had a suspicion that the teacher was taking her presence as something of an insult.

At least _boring_ was better than actively embarrassing. Calligraphy had been unpleasant. She could write, of course, in the flowing script of the Water Tribes, and she could certainly read the more stylized Fire Nation script, but writing it herself was problematic. Probably still would be if she'd had one of the pens Uncle Sokka's friend the Mechanist had created, that they used a lot at the south pole. Using a brush instead... hadn't helped. She'd been tempted, given how much thinner it was than the sea-prune and oil ink they used at home, to try just Bending the ink onto her page, but she _really_ wasn't sure she could have pulled that trick off, even if there hadn't been a classroom rule against Bending inside.

Earlier, the woman had spoken of the Water Tribes, and _that_ little speech had been full of barbed words and cutting glances, as if _daring_ Yangchen – or perhaps Bato, who was standing stoic at the back of the class – to interrupt her stream of half-truths and insults. Yangchen was being good; not making a scene... but she could hardly wait for the day's lessons to be over. Or at least a move to something technical; mathematics, thanks to Uncle Sokka, was a subject she figured she'd be at least on par with the others.

History of anyone other than the Water Tribes, she was likely to have some trouble with. She knew a little, but it was all generalized stuff. Details, she lacked – and especially details of the Fire Nation. She wanted to do well... and so she held her temper and listened. Finally, the school's chimes sounded, announcing that it was noon, and they had an hour before they needed to be back in this classroom.

* * *

"Look at that little Water Tribe girl. Who does she think she is, coming to _our_ academy?"

Yangchen pretended not to hear the snide comment; even though it was pitched, she'd bet very deliberately, to carry all the way to her. Words weren't worth losing one's temper over, however much she might like to. She was a good girl, and she'd behave.

Spicy fish and rice made a decent lunch, though she was still getting used to the flavors. She concentrated on eating, using the chopsticks. They weren't terribly familiar but she was getting used to them after a few meals. It was good to have something to concentrate on. Kept her from listening to the hateful words of that one girl.

At least, until said girl, flanked by her two friends, got right up in front of her. "Are you deaf, Water Girl? Or do you think you're just _better_ than we are; that we're unworthy?" A tiny flicker of flame played around her fingertips for a moment.

Yangchen filed the girl in the _Firebender_ category, sighed and looked up. The girl's brown hair was pulled into elaborate braids, tied with woven copper wire and framing a pale, angular face with dark eyes. "What do you want?"

"It speaks!" she said, and her friends tittered with laughter. "Answer my question, Water Girl. Who do you think you are, coming to _our_ academy?"

For a moment, she continued to sit in silence, considering her answer. Finally, she settled on honesty. She didn't much feel like dealing with this girl, but she had a feeling that trying to ignore her wouldn't work, and trying to _deal_ with her would get her in trouble. "My name is Yangchen, daughter of Katara and Avatar Aang. Why am I here? Because the Avatar and the Firelord thought it would be a good idea. Complain to them."

"Ooh, listen to that! She's _important_! Do you think you're _better_ than us, little Waterbender?"

_You wouldn't last five seconds in a polar storm. _"Not better, just different." _Be polite. Be a Good Girl._

The girl's smile could be a razor. "Then you're in the wrong place. If you know what's good for you, you'll stop standing out." Then she turned on her heel and stalked away, her friends giggling at Yangchen before following.

The Waterbender held very still for several seconds, then exhaled slowly. _She's a fool, and she's not worth it. I am a good girl._

* * *

Wu Fong had retired from the Fire Nation Army shortly after young prince Zuko ascended to the position of Fire Lord. He'd retired because he saw the sense in the changes the youngster was making... and knew that he himself, an opinionated old Komodo Rhino of the old guard, would struggle to change with it. He'd served almost forty years, and retired to his modest family estates on a General's half-pay. Blind luck had found him romance, in for form of a widow thirty years his junior.

It had been something of a scandal. But not enough to make him regret the decision. Their daughter had been a pleasant surprise. And now, as he heard her come in, he tried not to slip into General Mode. Just because Faa almost certainly had useful intelligence about the Avatar's daughter...

It was only a few minutes before she came into his study. "Hello, Father."

"Welcome home, Faa, how was your day?"

Faa plopped down in one of the big wing-chairs. "Pretty good. The vulture-hornets had another target, so I was mostly left alone."

_Oh, that's not what I was hoping to hear..._ "Oh? Who?"

"That Waterbender who came to the capitol."

"The Avatar's daughter." _Young idiots. Agni, probably old idiots too._

"I guess."

"Fools. Have they even a faint clue how many people it will annoy, trying to sharpen their claws on that child?"

Faa had grown up in a military household, and knew full well the value of good intel – part of the reason she herself was a bit of an outcast was her standoffish nature and, were he honest, perhaps more barracks language picked up from her father and his old friends than was strictly appropriate for a girl of her age and status. "Well, Yangchen _did_ say that her being there was because of the Avatar and the Firelord. Li Bei didn't back down from that."

"That she is a fool is hardly news to either of us..." He shook his head. "This is hardly a good thing. The Southern Water Tribe is politically unimportant, but the Avatar is _not_. Antagonizing his children will hardly do good things for our nation."

Faa crossed her arms. "You're not about to order me to be her friend, are you?"

_Damnation. I raised her to be far too perceptive. _"Come now, daughter, you wound me." A pause. "Though it would hardly be a bad idea. If _you_ make a powerful friend, it could, perhaps, deflect those fools from you as well."

"Or just give them a target-rich zone. I can deflect most of their individual snipings, but a nice mass target's easier to hit."

_Damn it girl, I though I raised you smarter than this. Or perhaps you've more of your mother's stubbornness than I'd thought._ He raised a hand in a deflecting gesture. "All right, all right. Even an old lizard-hound like me can learn. I'm glad your day went well."

* * *

Face a mask of concentration, Yangchen moved with deadly grace through the courtyard, streamers of water flashing in the late afternoon sunlight. She was angry and frustrated. Fire Nation schools were terrible places, full of angry, arrogant, mean jerks. She'd kept her temper, ignoring their sniping and being polite and formal with the teacher as she criticized everything she did. And that hadn't even helped! Water Tribe formal wasn't the same as Fire Nation formal, and the old prune had taken it all as an insult.

But now she was out of class and in the relative privacy of a training yard, and she could vent. Kata and bending forms to warm up, and now Bato – himself more than a little angry at the situation, and how little he'd been able to do to help during the day – was tossing stones towards her to slap out of the air. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough to get them into reach – it was a good practice exercise, and it let her indulge her need to _hit something_ without hurting anyone.

Finally, she managed to work out her frustration, made herself calm. "Feeling better?" Asked Bato with a faint smile.

"Much." Her answering smile was honest and bright.

"Good. Your bending is looking better than average today – why don't we get out some scrolls and work on some more?"

* * *

Ursa had never associated 'braiding' with anything other than hair before, but at least she knew how to do it. Fixing fishing lines or nets was slow and kinda tedious, but it beat the heck out of gluing noodles into a card as far as arts schooling.

Schooling at the South Pole was a lot less formal than she was used to. There _were_ some proper classes, but they only covered basic things like maths and writing and a little history. No politics, no cliques, no caligraphy, just the basics. After that, they moved on to practical things. Thus, she was mending nets with a few of the others. Tomorrow, they'd be heading out with the nets to go fishing. The Fire Princess wasn't much of a swimmer, but she thought that it could be fun. Akagi had, in her usual, silent way, expressed total disapproval for this idea, bordering on abject horror at the concept.

She was really, truly grateful to have her bodyguard around. Having someone familiar nearby had been a godsend the first few nights, but now... she was starting to get her bearings. She'd gotten some unkind looks from some of the older people; people she was willing to bet remembered the war, but the other kids had been pretty decent to her, outside of some gentle ribbing about the sheer number of layers she was wearing.

The gloves, in particular, made mending the nets tricky. It was hard to keep a grip on things. Still, progress was being made. "This one's almost done."

The man in charge of the little work group; an older Waterbender from the North, smiled gently. "And it looks of good work from here, little Princess. Sure you don't want to come along on the morrow?"

Akagi didn't move from the corner she stood in, keeping watch in professional paranoia while politely rebraiding one fishing line, and she didn't speak, just loosing a surprisingly eloquent grunt.

"Not this time, at least." Another grunt from Akagi, which drew a chuckle from the Waterbender, and one of the other youths working the nets, a boy a few years older than she was whose green eyes bespoke Earth Kingdom roots. Ursa glanced to her bodyguard. "What if I promise to be good?"

There was a moment of silence, interrupted by Akagi sighing. "We'll see."

"Monta's boat is totally safe," piped up the boy. "You worry too much."

Akagi grumbled something that sounded a lot like 'because that's my job.'

* * *

_At least we're not on a boat,_ thought Akagi as she stood beside her Princess on the harbor's retaining wall, dangling lines into the frigid water outside the harbor. It was hardly a new experience for her – fishing was one of the only ways, in the navy, to get something good to eat once you were halfway into a given patrol. Ursa was a quick study at it. Akagi was still somewhat annoyed with her charge, and her desire to do assorted dangerous things in the name of being useful.

She could actually respect the desire to pitch in. It seemed to permeate everything here; even at the feast the... nobles probably wasn't the right term, but it seemed as close to what she'd seen if the leadership of the Southern Water Tribe as any. If nothing else, they were nowhere near regimented enough to compare to a proper military command structure, however well they'd done in the War.

Whatever they were, they'd all pitched in, or almost all. There'd been no servants at the meal, just lots of passing around and going back and forth from the kitchens to the gathering hall. Even Chief Hakoda had made one run back that she'd noticed. Life at the poles was close to the edge; and it seemed no-one thought twice about pitching in to help with things. When polar winter came, if you didn't already have enough food stockpiled to make it through you, quite simply, would _not_ make it through.

There was, she had a feeling, no other way to survive up here. Not with this many people. The Northern Water Tribe, she knew, was in a much more secure position, their icy city attached to a cliff and the edge of a tundra. They could pasture great herds of Reindeer-Yaks, and, or so she'd heard at least, eke a handful of hardy grains out of the cold earth. She believed it; she'd done a tour of duty in Northern waters. Late fall, in the Northern Water Tribe's waters, was about the same temperature, on average, as they were getting now at the South Pole, in late summer.

The conditions gave rise to an almost brutally egalitarian system. She thanked Agni for the hand He'd had on Ursa's upbringing – her parents, most especially the Fire Lord, had had to make due without servants before, and they'd survived the experience. They'd made sure their children, high nobility though they were, knew how to live without servants. And again, He had gifted Ursa with a healthy quality of stubbornness and pluck, which was helping the girl cope with being so far from home and in so different a place. The first two nights, she'd cried herself to sleep. Since then, she'd managed. She wasn't comfortable – Spirits knew, neither of them likely ever be totally comfortable amid this frozen mass – but she was getting along.

Somewhat surprisingly, a few of the local youngsters were making overtures of friendship. Akagi had half expected the Fire Princess to be snubbed – for her nationality if nothing else, in this city stitched together by various enemies of the Fire Nation, but they'd been at worst civil, and, after a day or two of getting to know her, mostly polite.

She herself was catching more ribbing. Most of the people who the two of them talked to seemed to find her entirely reasonable professional paranoia somewhere between amusing and a vague insult. She wasn't about to back down, of course, not any time soon. Especially not while there were still a non-trivial number of folks here who preferred to deal with them with, at best, strained courtesy and in a few cases outright loathing. People of her generation, or her parent's, who hadn't gotten over the war just yet. She couldn't blame them, mind; she was open-minded enough for that; but she was hardly about to let that reduce her vigilance or otherwise possibly endanger her charge.

That didn't have anything to do with her refusal to let Ursa join the daily fishing fleets. No, that stemmed from entirely reasonable terror about chill polar water, and Firebenders on boats made of terrifyingly flammable oiled hide and bone. Still, they would contribute. Akagi, with a navywoman's experience at fishing, had managed to land five good-sized arctic Tuna-Carp. Ursa, still getting a feel for it, hadn't gotten anything yet, but her determination was such that no-one doubted she'd manage some before night fell.

"You could come with me, on a fishing boat, you know. If you're that worried."

"It's a safety issue, Your Highness."

"You didn't have any problems with the ship coming here."

"That was different. First, it was fireproof. Second, for most of the trip we were in waters where the cold wouldn't kill you inside a minute."

Ursa opened her mouth to respond, paused. _Thank you, Merciful Agni, for giving her a little sense._ "You think the boats are that dangerous? They go fishing with them all the time."

"And everyone knows how you can and can't move on the little things. A small, light boat doesn't handle like a big ship." A pause. "_I'd_ think twice before jumping into one, and I've done my time in the Navy." Another pause. "At least in waters like this. Closer to home, where it's not so cold, falling in wouldn't be quite so unpleasant."

Ursa nodded slowly, and Akagi let herself relax slightly. If she was happy to co-operate, that might make this a bit easier.

"Well, we'll have to see what I can do that's safer, then, and still helpful."

That rang alarm bells. "What do you call fishing?"

"Well, since I haven't caught anything yet..."

_Oh Agni... of course it's not going to be that easy... _She hoped Ursa was just trying to wind her up now. The girl had done so before, though not in some time. Merciful Agni, she hoped the Princess wasn't being serious.

* * *

Li Bei was a skilled daughter of a rich and powerful Fire Nation noble house. Her bloodlines were impeccable and could be traced back a dozen generations. Her family was a mighty one; one that had profited from the war and still profited from the peace. She knew, to her very bones, that the Fire Nation was superior, whatever the Fire Lord might say. She'd heard many things from her father and mother on that subject over the years.

She prided herself on her patriotism. And on attending a fine and prestigious academy. The daughter of an Airbender, even the Avatar, was not worthy to even be on the soil of the Home Islands, to say nothing of her academy. The Air Nomads had been destroyed in a single day by Fire Lord Sozin; they were more unworthy than any other. Yangchen was a fool and an idiot; ignorant of everything, and she was going to enjoy making the little water-witch's life a living hell until she either snapped and proved to everyone how unworthy she was, or gave up and went home; doing the same thing in the way of a coward.

There were other girls she felt did not belong at the Academy and its prestigious grounds. The General's little walking scandal, a fat daughter of a jumped-up industrialist who'd fairly _bought_ himself a patent of nobility, an ugly girl with the face of a horse... But given her current target, she would let her sister Fire Nationals be. Perhaps a demonstration against an outsider might inspire them to proper behavior. If not... let them think they had been accepted by the proper girls. It would make going back to the old ways all the more satisfying.

The perfect chance was handed to her a few days after the little water-witch first entered her domain. The Academy taught all its students ways for a civilized noblewoman to defend herself, one day out of each week. Politics, in the Fire Nation, was traditionally rough. And it would be almost criminal _not_ to help its nobles learn to defend themselves against any kind of attack. And given the Waterbender's presence, and her insistence on trying everything and failing terribly with her inept, barbaric ways, it would be a matter of a few well placed words to get herself put against the younger girl when it came time to spar.

She kept half an eye on the girl at the first stage of the lessons, as they went through Bending forms. The ignorant little savage followed the instructions in Firebending forms, too stupid to know they wouldn't work for her. Li Bei was not the only girl to notice this, nor was she the only to find it amusing. With the rest of her attention, she followed the forms perfectly; showing herself to be the most graceful of the young Firebenders present.

She would prove her superiority soon enough.

* * *

_I smell a Spider-Rat,_ thought Yangchen as the schoolmistress called out partners for the sparring. She'd ignored the giggles at her following the Firebending forms, because she was starting to conclude that all of these girls were too full of themselves to care about anyone else. Firebending forms had seemed a better idea than sitting out, or the training with light blades the non-Benders were doing, or (probably worst of all, in the schoolmistress' eyes) practicing her Waterbending forms. If nothing else, it gave her an idea of what they could do, how they moved.

Li Bei stood across from her, copper in her hair shining in the sunlight, smirking arrogantly as she moved into a loose, balanced stance. She looked almost relaxed, as if she could not even conceive of this match not going her way.

Yangchen was, like many of the other girls, stretching. Not the same stretches, of course, but loosening up for the movements of Waterbending, the weight of her waterskin a comfort against her hip. She took a few quick, subtle glances around the practice yard with its admittedly lovely tiled mosaic showing both the Fire Nation crest and the school's coat of arms. The teachers were watching. Bato was watching(and watched in turn by a few guard-types). Her sister students... were trying not to look like they were watching, but fooled no-one. She schooled her features into neutrality, settled into a fighting stance, and looked Li Bei in the eye.

The taller girl met the gaze and then flashed into motion, bolts of fire flashing from her fists as she advanced. Yangchen drew water from her skin in a smooth motion; blocking a few blasts with it and sidestepping another, then, as the Firebender raised a leg for a kick, sent a water-whip at her planted foot, ducking the oncoming gout of flame. The whip connected, and Li fell with a yelp, landing hard on her side. Yangchen pulled the water back to its skin, bowed politely, and then slid into her stance again.

For a brief, beautiful second, Li Bei's face was the very picture of rage, then the Firebender picked herself up, gave a short, perfunctory bow, and dropped once more into her own stance.

The attack came quickly, but it was not as aggressive, this time, as before. She was trying to feel out Yangchen's defenses, and the Waterbender kept her honest with the occasional attack of her own. They began to circle each other, each taking the occasional shot at the other. Around them, the other sparring matches had ground to a halt; as everyone watched two gifted Benders in their match. She risked a glance at Bato. The old warrior was smiling; he clearly thought she had things in hand.

Bolstered, Yangchen's sallies grew more aggressive, and she pushed the Firebender back. Li Bei fell back, in her frustration beginning to telegraph her counter-attacks, and the Waterbender finally caught her full in the face with a gallon-sized ball of water, toppling the girl once more to splutter. A few quick gestures gathered the splattered droplets (well, most of them) and she again bowed and settled into stance, smirking as she invited a third match. _I think I am now being a little bit bad... but I'm pretty sure I was set up in the first place, so I'm justified._

It took more than a few moments for Li Bei to steady herself, breathing heavily in her anger. Actual steam flowed from her nostrils as she stood, snarling. This time, she did not bow or settle into a cautious stance, she simply launched herself into an attack, embarrassment and fury lending her strength. Now Yangchen was on the back foot. Waterbending was stronger, defensively, than Firebending, but she had lost some of her water already, and more boiled to steam in the face of the older girl's onslaught. This was not a sparring match, anymore, this was one enraged girl lashing out at a victim who had the utter gall to fight back.

Desperately, Yangchen reached for any water she could feel, and the jugs set out for refreshment popped open at her call. It wasn't much – only a few gallons – but it was better than nothing. She'd simply have to end this quickly. Li Bei's aggression did not abate; lashing out with impressive fury, and the spectators, student and instructor alike, fell back around them, not wanting to get in the path of any errant blast.

Bato had one hand on the knife at his belt; his face a mask of anger and his voice a growl. She could not make out his words from this distance, but she could imagine his snarls at the guards who were also standing with hands on hilts and eyeing him warily.

Finally, Yangchen saw an opening. Water flew, already freezing in mid-air, and crashed against a foot, freezing it to the tile. One foot suddenly planted, Li Bei's momentum was broken, and she faltered a moment. Three more quick moves and the other foot was similarly planted; both fists sheathed in ice. The Firebender dropped to one knee, tried to steady herself.

There was a long moment of quiet, both Benders breathing heavily as they watched each other warily, their audience silent. Then the schoolmistress' voice cut through it. "That will be quite enough for today. As neither of you seems to be able to respect the rules we have to regulate these sessions, I will expect two pages from each of you explaining how your actions were in error. And I trust they will not be in error again."

_What did _I _do wrong?_ Though Yangchen, but her only response was a slightly shakey bow – the adrenaline was flowing strong within her – and then she walked, head high, for the dressing room.

There was a sound of breaking ice and a shout of warning from behind her; she threw herself to one side, felt the blast of flame miss her by far too little margin, and rolled into a crouch, looking back at Li Bei, her face a mask of fury. The Firebender wound up with her one free hand; shouts and running from the others in the yard unheard through the drumming in her ears; and loosed another blast. Yangchen did not quite manage to dodge it, and pulled what little water she had left around her sleeve to extinguish it.

Then one of the other girls, a Firebender named Faa, had Li Bei in a sleeper hold, pulling the girl around and keeping her from Bending long enough for an instructor to arrive.

* * *

_The old lady's pissed_, thought Faa as she sat in uncomfortable silence in the schoolmistress' office. Her reaction in the sparring yard had been pure instinct; Li Bei wasn't just breaking the rules and dishonoring herself, she was trying to kill someone, and she'd been closest. Everything had gotten a little chaotic after that. The Water Tribe veteran bellowing at the Schoolmistress, the guards bellowing at him, the Schoolmistress' acid tones as she hissed back at the man in blue as well...

Right now, she was in her inner office, the door open, scribing furiously. _I'm gonna be in so much trouble when my parents see this..._ a pause. _Actually, probably just with Mom. Father's going to be happy that I made myself a target again to help the Waterbender. _She sighed, slumped.

To her right, Li Bei, shot her a smoldering look, and held herself in perfect, dignified, ladylike posture, if rigid. She, too, would likely be facing parental wrath for this little debacle. To her left sat Yangchen, who was _trying _to pull off the 'Dignified Lady' look and failing, a generalized unhappiness writ large on her face.

Being between the two was not fun just now. At all.

After a long and uncomfortable silence, they heard the schoolmistress stand, and all three straightened up, doing their best to look innocent. The severe woman stood before them and reguarded all three for long, silent seconds.

"I am terribly disappointed by what happened today. Terribly disappointed. I _am_ grateful none of you were seriously hurt, and your actions, Faa, were quite helpful in the moment." For a brief second, a smile touched her lips, but it failed to reach her eyes and quickly vanished entirely as she turned to the Waterbender. "Yangchen, your goading of Li Bei was not ladylike behavior, nor was your... acquisition of additional water in the midst of your sparring session."

"But I needed it, and it was right there!" she blurted out.

The old woman's gaze hardened. "A Bender must be self-sufficent. That is a rule of our sparring ground. You knew it, because you read it. And I know you did, because despite your background you _have_ been making an effort to learn this last week. In the future, you will not draw upon waters not your own for this. To do otherwise changes the situation unacceptably, and sparring only works if the situation is not changing. Am I making myself clear?"

A long pause, then a short, sharp nod.

She turned then towards Li Bei. "Li Bei. Do you understand the principles of Firebending and using one's emotions without letting them use you?"

Quietly, "Yes, schoolmistress."

"Do you understand the principles of honorable combat and honorable sparring?"

Very quietly, "Yes, schoolmistress."

"Then I trust you understand why I am _especially _disappointed with your actions today?"

Very, very quietly, "Yes, schoolmistress."

"Then I also trust you will be able to explain your errors. It should take no less than six pages, and I will expect it promptly after this weekend."

Li Bei's nod was meek.

"Very well. Each of you will be presenting a scroll to your parents or," she nodded to Yangchen, "guardian. I trust that this shameful behavior will not be repeated."

"Yes, schoolmistress," the three of them intoned. She handed them each a scroll and dismissed them.

Outside the office, with the thick door hopefully cutting off the sound, Li Bei hissed, "Damn you, Waterbender."

Yangchen swallowed whatever her first response was, then spoke in deliberately calm tones, "You tried to kill me. Twice. What is your _problem_? Being here wasn't my idea. Tui and La, I'd rather be just about anywhere else. _You_ broke the rules and _you_ got in trouble. How is that _my_ fault?" She stalked off, radiating an icy fury.

Li Bei looked like she was about to follow, and Faa grabbed her shoulder. "Not a good idea."

"Don't _touch_ me, you filthy barracks-rat. I didn't ask you for an opinion."

"Pity, too. I'dve warned you." At the taller girl's snarl, she said, "Both her parents are _master_ Waterbenders. She'd just spent an _hour_ studying Firebending forms. What did you _think _was going to happen?"

"The day I need advice from someone like _you_-"

Faa cut her off. "Fine, be an idiot. It's all you ever do." _I am going to regret that. A lot._ She stomped out herself, pursuing the Waterbender. _You win, Father._

Yangchen hadn't gone far. Her bodyguard was crouched down, giving her a hug, and Faa gave them some space, casting a glance or two back the way she'd come, in case of enraged popular girl. Finally, the hug ended, and she stepped forward. "You okay?" she asked.

The Waterbender turned, and she politely pretended not to see that the younger girl had been crying. "I'm fine. And... thank you."

A shrug. "I'm sure you'dve done the same for me. You seem a decent sort." A pause. "We're not all idiots."

Yangchen managed a slight smile. "I'm glad." A pause, then she stretched out a hand. "Friends?"

Faa gave it a firm shake. _In for a copper, in for a gold-mark._ "Friends. Want a hand on that paper she wants you to write?"


End file.
